Photo by Graham Cullen From left, Salyer McLaughlin, Clark Kline and Jason Streff pose for a photograph inside the projection booth of the Weinberg Center as they prepare for the 72 Film Fest.

Lots and lots of action, actually, during the 72 Film Fest, as 35 teams of filmmakers were let loose at 9 p.m. last Thursday from the Cultural Arts Center to bustle through their 72-hour time constraint to create a 4-minute, 30-second film within specified guidelines: The film had to include, in one way or another, a given proverb, provided by festival organizers.

By 9 p.m. Sunday, 32 finished films were given to festival judges (a panel of experts in different fields) at the CAC, who watched the films for creativity, cinematography, acting, etc., and determined what teams, if any, pulled off the challenge -- to include some aspect of Frederick 's In The Streets festival, which took place during the 72-hour filming process.

Whose idea was this?

Clark Kline recently completed a full-length movie with his company, Fool Martyr Productions, a project that took a year just to film.

Jason Streff, while he said his films are less ambitious, spends a month or two to complete what he calls quasi-documentaries: random interviews strung together with a common theme.

Both filmmakers had competed in the Frederick Festival of Film and won, so when that festival ended two years ago, the local producers didn't just sit around, disheartened; they emailed people, looking for anyone interested in keeping the festival alive somehow. Not long after, a new festival was born, 72 Film Fest, organized in roughly two and half months, by Kline, Streff and another local producer, Salyer McLaughlin, creative director at High Rock Studios.

Their mission now, in addition to creating films of their own, is to keep the film scene alive in Frederick and help filmmakers get their work shown.

The Frederick Festival of Film was run by film distributors, McLaughlin said. He thinks competing filmmakers picked up on that, and that it made a huge difference to be involved in a festival organized by filmmakers and film producers last year.

Organizing rather than competing in a film festival has been "rewarding in a totally different sense," Kline said. "We still use the creative process."

All teams could have, theoretically, been asked to use the same hidden criteria, thus creating less work for the organizers, but Kline said that would dampen the experience for the audience, when the films are shown at the Weinberg Center the Saturday following the competition. Festival organizers want the audience to get a cohesive viewing experience; otherwise, it could get a little frustrating. So they came up with 50 proverbs from across the globe, for participants to choose from.

The organizers also produce their own film during the 72-hour time limit, "so we live that part of it as well," Streff said.

Last year, submitted film shorts were strung together with mock interviews of participating team members.

This year, McLaughlin will produce a short film to document the overall event, shot on 8mm film with high definition, which is pretty interesting visually, he said, adding that the "message is important: the importance of making film."

Both this year and last year's festival were put together rather quickly, like the films themselves. Artists thrive on deadlines, the organizers said. "Creativity comes through procrastination, pressure," Streff said. "A lot of filmmakers need that deadline."

That being said, they have procrastinated a little this year. Last year, they organized the festival in about two and a half months; this year, they knew they had already laid the foundation, which would make organizing the competition a little easier, so they didn't get started until recently -- even with 14 more registered teams than last year.

Organizers were surprised to discover the number of filmmakers in the area: There are a lot. They said filmmakers are also coming from the D.C./Baltimore area to compete.

"Students and professionals compete alongside each other, and the students are holding their own," Kline said.

"The students were definitely holding their own," Streff agreed. "Just because you're not professional, there's no reason to feel like you're less of a filmmaker."

They also emphasized that filmmaking is more affordable with today's technology. With computer programs like Final Cut Pro, and video cameras people can carry in their pockets -- or that come on their phones -- film is much more widespread than it was even five years ago. Plus, YouTube has provided an invaluable resource for filmmakers to show their work easily to the whole world-wide web; the medium has changed filmmaking.

"Everyone is somewhat of a filmmaker," Streff said. "We all grew up watching TV and movies." He argued that filmmaking is basically a matter of learning how to use the equipment.

Teams last year ranged from one person (Brian Slagle, for example) to about 25.

"It's definitely an interesting thing to watch the creative process," Streff said. "Because everyone does everything differently."

Kline pointed out that the filmmaking process is not a solitary art like painting or writing. He plans to expand with challenges held throughout the year that include other arts, like an editing contest for writers.

The teams are there to make art and to watch their art on a big screen, the organizers said. It's not about the prizes.

"The festival is about the filmmakers," Streff added. "It's a place for them to get their work seen."

Organizers' websites:
Clark Kline
Jason Streff
Salyer McLaughlin