Doing A 48 Hour Film Festival in the Middle of Another Production, Why Not?

A few days ago, we finally wrapped production on FOR THE LAND. It only took us two weeks longer than planned, thanks to actors (and myself) getting sick, unexpected trips back to Idaho for additional shots, and having to reshoot nearly an entire day toward the end. It was a grind we didn’t expect, especially considering I had signed us up for a 48-hour film festival the month before.

So, we paused feature production for a day and dove headfirst into making a short film on a tight deadline. We had a team of about fifteen, most eager to act but also ready to grab a light or tripod when needed. Naturally, we pulled the exact genres we didn’t want.

Musical or Western. Bonus points if we made it about climate change.

After some frantic brainstorming, I landed on an idea: a western town held hostage by an evil tornado, forcing them to hire a wandering weatherman for help.

We needed Western costumes. One of our team members had that covered.

We needed a western town. Another got on the phone and made that happen.

And off we went. Except it poured rain. I mean really poured, for the first three hours. We waited it out, then sprinted into action, filming as fast as we could. We had to capture everything in a single day because the next morning, we were back at a funeral home filming another long day for FOR THE LAND.

In the end, it went great. Sure, I wish I could have spent another five hours polishing the edit, but we turned it in on time and had a blast.

Not sure I’ll sign up for another 48-hour festival anytime soon, but I can’t promise we won’t sneak in another short film or two before the year is up.

Also, the movie is called 1872 and Sunny. Coming to a something near you.