Tuesday 18 July 2000

IFP Phoenix Filmmaker Challenges 2013-14

IFP Phoenix runs a number of film challenges every year in the Phoenix area.

In the 2013-14 season, the challenges were the Beat the Clock Challenge, the Mystery Box Challenge and the Breakout Challenge. All submissions were screened at events at the Phoenix Art Museum, while the top films from each moved on to screen in a dedicated block at the Phoenix Film Festival at the Harkins Scottsdale 101. Awards were given at each event and for the best of year films.

The Beat the Clock Challenge screenings were on 26th July, 2013. The winning film was Star Babies, with Adventure! and Eva's Light the runners up. Best actress was Michelle Palermo for Star Babies. Best actor was Brandon Slezak for Adventure!, which also won Bonnie Sowle the best director award.

The Mystery Box Challenge screenings were on 14th November, 2013 and I was honoured to be one of the judges for this event. After the Beep won for best film, with Long Way and The Lights following in second and third place. Long Way was also the audience favourite and Josh Kasselman won as best director. Tyler Schneider was the best actor for Next, while Madison Ottinger won best actress for Break Down.

The Breakout Challenge screenings were on 6th February, 2014 and I was again honoured to be among the judges. Blue beat Conundrum into second place by a single vote, with Belly of the Whale in third. Bill Wetherill was best actor for Conundrum and Colleen Hartnett was best actress for Blue, which also won the best director award for Jason Francois and Jae Staats. The audience favourite was Rigged.

At the year end roundup at the Phoenix Film Festival, Long Way won as best picture.

Here are all the films that screened at these events this year, with titles linking to my reviews and the IMDb pages added for reference.

Rating System
1 - Abysmal | 2 - Bad | 3 - Poor | 4 - OK | 5 - Good | 6 - Excellent | 7 - Classic

Beat the Clock Challenge
Title Year H D Director(s) IMDb
Escape from Zany's Baking Company 2013 4 4 Shawn Esplin n/a
Psychic Says 2013 3 4 Winter Kane n/a
The Worst Best Man 2013 4 4 Kenny Colt IMDb
An Adventure in the Life of Barry Barksworth 2013 4 4 Cory Rowe IMDb
The Anniversary Card 2013 3 3 Sheri H Barbera n/a
Eva's Light 2013 5 5 Glen A Hines IMDb
Wouldn't Be Love 2013 3 4 Mack Duncan IMDb
The Date 2013 4 4 Cody Carlson n/a
The Neighbors 2013 5 5 Tommy Schaeffer IMDb
The Disco is in the Details 2013 3 3 Shane Sandler & Brian Weis n/a
Those Who Forget the Past 2013 3 3 Jon Brown n/a
Piece for Resistance 2013 4 4 Paulie Jorquera n/a
Adventure! 2013 4 4 Bonnie Sowle n/a
The Desert 2013 4 4 Ryan O'Connell n/a
The Key 2013 3 3 Ivana Kat n/a
Doubting Thomas 2013 5 5 J Andy Moreno n/a
Comforting Shadows 2013 2 2 Jeff Grunow n/a
Deep Love 2013 3 3 Christian Cota n/a
Inflated 2013 6 5 Sterling E Smith IMDb
Star Babies 2013 6 5 Travis Mills IMDb
Drink 2013 4 4 Stephanie Joyce & Ravi Devineni n/a
It's All Relative 2013 4 4 Sarah Woodward n/a

Mystery Box Challenge
Title Year H D Director(s) IMDb
Gift Rush 2013 4 4 Eva Marquez n/a
The Prescription 2013 5 4 Sarah Woodward n/a
Next 2013 5 5 Bonnie Sowle n/a
Smiling 2013 2 3 Shawn Esplin n/a
Catch the Frog 2013 5 5 Travis Mills n/a
3 Men and a Goblin 2013 4 4 Julie Van Lith n/a
Lover Boy 2013 3 3 T J Randolph n/a
The Diner 2013 4 4 Barbara A Gresser n/a
After the Beep 2013 6 6 Kyle Gerkin n/a
Zombies of Capitalism 2013 2 2 Mikey Campbell n/a
Brevity 2013 3 4 Cody Martin n/a
The Lights 2013 4 4 J Andy Moreno n/a
Deep Sleep 2013 4 4 Aaron Hudson IMDb
Break Down 2013 4 4 Robert Garcia n/a
LARPer 2013 3 3 Shane Sandler n/a
The Stretch 2013 4 4 Torrey Inez n/a
Long Way 2013 4 5 Josh Kasselman IMDb
Your Turn to Smile 2013 4 5 Luis Prado III IMDb
The Will 2013 5 5 Mack Duncan IMDb
The Hedge Sculptor 3000 2013 5 5 Adam Mariner n/a

Breakout Challenge
Title Year H D Director(s) IMDb
The Idea 2014 4 4 Andy Robinson n/a
The Engagement 2014 4 Michael Dazen n/a
Rigged 2014 4 4 Shawn Esplin n/a
Lost Cause 2014 4 Vaughan Grey n/a
Office Hours: 6 to Midnight 2014 2 Brian Weis n/a
If Not Me 2014 4 4 Glen A Hines n/a
Clutter 2014 4 n/a
Undersea Garden of Eden 2014 1 n/a
Blue 2014 6 6 Jae Staats & Jason Francois IMDb
Door 1098 2014 4 n/a
Belly of the Whale 2014 5 5 Kyle Gerkin IMDb
Westside Bully 2014 4 Lyle Dillie n/a
Baked Goodness 2014 4 Mack Duncan IMDb
Conundrum 2014 6 5 Kristin LaVanway n/a
Wrecked 2014 5 5 Kenny Colt IMDb
The Cost of Living 2014 4 n/a

Finals
Title Year H D Director(s) IMDb
Star Babies 2013 6 5 Travis Mills IMDb
Eva's Light 2013 5 5 Glen A Hines IMDb
After the Beep 2013 6 6 Kyle Gerkin IMDb
Long Way 2013 4 5 Josh Kasselman IMDb
Rigged 2014 4 4 Shawn Esplin n/a
Blue 2014 6 6 Jae Staats & Jason Francois IMDb

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