The Munro Review gets a firsthand account of making a short film on strict deadline. Check out the competition tonight.

By Anahid Valencia

The Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) hosted its annual 72-hour film race from Aug. 1-3, where roughly 50 filmmakers from all over the Central Valley competed to plan, produce and edit the best short film with little-to-no preparation, with a potential golden prize of $800. I got a firsthand view of the madness when I was invited to tag along with Green Room Films, a filmmaking group from Fresno City College, which let The Munro Review follow them along their three-day journey.

Each short film entered in the competition will be screened at Maya Cinemas beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, and shortly thereafter, we will reveal Green Room Films’ trials and tribulations in the form of exclusive, behind-the-scenes reporting.

At noon on Aug. 1, each team received a packet detailing the title of their film, a must-have quote and a required prop, which was solely up to the organizer’s discretion. From there, the teams rushed into action.

I’ll tell you one thing: Mary Shelley just might be back from the beyond, but this time, she materialized into a young man in a muggy garage with a whole lot of gumption, and even more hair gel.