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Dufferin Film Festival organizers win 48-hour film competiton, prepare for 2025 event

December 20, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Congratulations to Rose Digital Media Group, co-producing with Filmmetery, winners of this year’s 48-Hour Film Project Toronto “The Best Film of 2024” for their film, “Three Graves Deep.” It is an amazingly created seven-minute film.

The competition required film teams to write, shoot, edit, music and conceptualize in just 48 hours from Oct. 19 to Oct. 20. On Sunday, Oct. 20 the cast were given their scripts in the morning for the first time and had to be ready for “Action!”

The film was competing against 130 other teams, likewise participating in the Toronto 48.

Kelly McDowell, Sam Asante and Reece Presley starred in the film, along with cameos by local stage actor Jack Brooks and local community stage manager Sarah Brooks. Peter Smits, Jonathan Clarke, Blake Frew, and Troy Leonard played additional roles. Behind the camera were cinematographer Angel Navarro III and co-directors Nick Rose and Alex Caucean.

“In one weekend,” Kelly McDowell told the Citizen in a recent interview, “With a few rules, our team wrote, shot, did the music over two days of the entire weekend. We were a team of 30, all friends who worked for free. The film was shot locally at the Silver Fox Farm, just east of Orangeville.

“We had never won before,” she said, adding, “We also won for Best Editing and Best Makeup.”

The win means they will represent Toronto and by extension, Dufferin County, as their award qualifies “Three Graves Deep” for a spot at Filmapalooza in Seattle in March 2025. From 48 Hour Film competitions around the world, over 100 cities will bring their winning films. Of that collection, the top 10 will go on to screen their films at the Cannes International Film Festival. Thrilling possibilities.

McDowell was excited to talk about Rose Digital Media Group’s upcoming, 2nd annual Dufferin Film Festival (DFF), on August 15, 16, and 17 in 2025. The call is out for Early Bird Submissions for short films, with a discount on the fees. The limit is 20 minutes but that would have to be extraordinary to excuse the probable need to cut out a couple of other films.

Excellence has been the bar for the films submitted last year and McDowell is confident that the bar will still stand this year.

There will be no early showings. Last year’s experience with early showings saw smaller audiences attend.

“Three days! Friday, Saturday, Sunday,” exclaimed McDowell, the media person for the DFF. “Still focused on Canadian film makers, short films and workshops which were very well attended last year. Almost every event was sold out.”

It was not only the filmmakers coming that was so wonderful but also the great partners, Bluebird Café and Grill and Greystones Restaurant, offering hospitality.

“The chef created a special menu for the Awards Night,” she told us. “It was just a buzz of networking.”

The attendance on the DFF weekend was around 50/50 between local and out-of-town attendees. People coming to Orangeville claimed they felt as though they were part of the community. They felt like stars, producing and seeing great Canadian films right here.

McDowell said, “We were looking for films. This year has a range of time. There are lots of film festivals but this event is not money based. It is to bring Canadian filmmakers to Dufferin.”

Early Birds are called for submissions until Jan. 31. It is cheaper to enter the festival early but they are looking for “quality films from people serious about submitting to us.”

The date of the DFF has been moved a weekend forward, in a sense of community with all the events that are in town. The Blues and Jazz are steady from May 30 to June 1. Other festivals’ altered dates ensure a flow of the festivals in town.

“Nice to be considered, to be included in that conversation,” McDowell commented.

People loved the films, filmmaking is arts and culture. It is not all about money, she was determined to establish, emphasizing that Canadian filmmaking should be celebrated.

“Why are we so involved with the Americans?” she asked. 

This festival supports and encourages different filmmakers; collaborating with the growth of an arts and cultural community.

The reason everyone should come and support DFF, this is an actual festival that supports and honours the filmmakers that come to it. Two students last year were able to meet filmmakers from B.C.

McDowell was definite, “The only way to to grow is about networking; without that, you don’t have the chance to let others know what you’re doing. Really interesting conversations are happening about how things happen from meeting people. There are offers of discounts on early bird tickets, to be sure arts and culture is accessible.'”

The organizers, Rose Digital Media Group, are looking for even the smallest way as a donation; there is a crowd funder, along with the corporate sponsor Mono Centre Brewing. Applications are going to government arts councils.

“Our volunteers were fantastic,” was her praise. “We couldn’t do it without them.”

The DFF is running the week of Aug. 15 to 17. Another fine celebration of the arts here in Dufferin County.

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