“Liability”

Once again, Tohubohu has ventured into the waters of the 48 Hour Film Project, and once again, we have succeeded... Well, in a manner of speaking.

The reality is that while we did produce a great little short horror film, “Liability,” we were late in making it to the final drop-off — and five minutes late is still late. Unfortunately, this means that while we will still screen at the AFI Silver Theatre tomorrow evening (and be eligible for the “Audience Favorite” award), we will not be eligible for consideration in any of the judged categories.

While most certainly a disappointment, I am comforted (at least somewhat) by the fact that every year we strive to do something more than the year before, to stretch our boundaries, to try new things. In a way, if we succeeded every time, then we wouldn’t really be challenging ourselves.

And the horror genre was definitely a challenge. But at every step in the process, everyone on the team worked like mad to make it a success. The individual stories of going above and beyond what I had any right to expect — from both cast and crew — are too numerous to mention.

(I did manage to keep tweeting our progress — though my tweets were understandably a bit sparse during the shoot itself — and I suspect that I’ll continue that tradition in the future.)

In the end, I’m really happy with the film itself. We had committed to producing a PG-13 film, which meant we weren’t going to go for a conventional slasher picture. So instead, we went with more of a creepy ghost story, a tale of justice and supernatural vengeance, of secrets, lies, and lawyers...

But of course, you can judge the results for yourselves: Tickets are still available for our debut screening tomorrow evening — Wednesday, May 5, at 7:00 p.m. You can purchase advance tickets at the AFI Silver website (and given the likelihood that they will sell out, I strongly recommend taking that course). Given that the only award we’re still up for is the Audience award, I really want to make sure we’re stacking that audience with as many friendly faces (or, more accurately, votes) as possible. And since all films in that screening fit within the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, you can feel free to bring younger viewers (thereby increasing our potential audience size).

Also worth noting are two special screenings coming up later this month. First is the Best of the 48 Hour Film Project on May 27, where the top films from this year’s competition will be shown, and the prize winners announced. (There is a different selection of films at each screening, so you can safely make a whole evening out of it.) And on May 28th, you can see the Best of 10 Years of the 48 Hour Film Project, showcasing the best films in the competition’s history — sure to be a memorable event. Tickets for both are also available at the AFI Silver website.

Thanks so much, and I hope to see you tomorrow evening!