Fused

SOLO ENTRY and eff me that must have been a billion times harder than duo: setting your own camera and essentially ruling out tracking shots, zooms etc, but the brains behind this one made some really smart film-making decisions by giving it movement and energy through lights, colour, flowing water, car travel, and screen footage (though not sure they had the rights to show what was on the screen briefly at the Photon Lux bar for commercial use for the comp - might have been Matthew Mcconaughey but I could have this wrong and I apologise if I do). Given the difficulty in setting your own camera I'm also forgiving of the fact that numerous shots of the actress were out of focus. Actually more forgiving than the technical difficulties they may have faced is the fact that the story was bloody strong, intriguing, dreamlike and wholly original. There were elements of LOST IN TRANSALATION with hints of THE NEON DEMON and BLUE VELVET and yet it had a beautiful mis-en-scene throughout that made it feel like a recurring dream. The story was seemingly simple though interesting, as a dream bookended an ambitious 48 hours road trip, yet more complex than that with high concept examinations of behaviour and control versus fate. The editing was top notch and the use of contrast throughout the film was excellent. Just a shame about the focus and I do hope what was on screen at the bar didn't break the rules. Well done on making the shortlist :) EDIT - yep, my beady eye is correct there was pre-existing footage of a film with Matthew Mcconaughey used approximately 1m32 to 1m36 at Photon Lux (I've just re-watched in the screening room). Should have unfortunately been DQ on this technicality much like Purple Dragons in 2016. Poor from the judges to miss it. Positive comments still stand, this was very very impressive for a solo 16 year old!

I can't imagine having done this at your age- would have loved to though! What I really liked: -Neon signs -Tunnel Driving -Wigs -Computer chip thing on arm -Humans only sign What I wanted more of: -Cyborg wars Well done on completing a film on your own in 48hours. I now know from my own film this year what a challenge it can be- I really admire how you have been able to pull resources and create a world that draws the audience in. Well done!

A bold effort from our first time, 16-year old, solo filmmaker Illena Shadbolt. From a production point of view this film was a huge achievement: writing, filming, acting, recording sound and editing everything by herself. On top of this production challenge, Illena's performance is engaging, subtle and had the right tone for her tech thriller genre. The futuristic lighting and the great variety of locations, a sci-fi bar, ocean, car, and a science lab all added to the world that the story takes place in. Although this was a solo effort the film had a lot of great support from the wider 48 hour community and picked up some nominations in the Wellington Final - Well done Illena!

A young woman/robot escapes from some kind of institution in the future. In search of a mysterious target she travels to Kaitaia to find that it is out in the ocean. This film was an impressive entry from a solo filmmaker who is only 16 and I'd still be impressed if this film was made by a group of adults. The performance was great, the shooting was well thought-out, and I imagine quite tricky considering the filmmaker had to set up the camera, then act. This did mean that the shots were all quite static and occasionally had some focus issues but it still had lots of energy with action happening in the frame and that carried us past any technical probelms. The use of locations was clever to give a sense of the future and I liked the little touches like the "no humans allowed" sign in the toilets. Well-done and fantastic work.