The Ross to screen 72-Hour Film Festival entries

Paige Cornwell

Daily Nebraskan

Nate Hotovy is making a movie about a taxi driver. The driver's name is Rick, and he is a bit 'off his rocker,' Hotovy said.

Rick is in a relationship with an electric fan.

Forgive Hotovy, a freshman mechanical engineer major, if the plot isn't the most normal. He and the rest of his group came up with the idea and wrote the script in four hours.

Hotovy was taking part in the 72-Hour Film Festival, a competition hosted by Cinema 16, which is a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student filmmaking group. The groups participating have three days to write, film and produce a movie, which are then shown at the festival. The screening will be held today at 7 p.m. at The Ross. Tickets cost $5.

The three requirements for this semester's 72-Hour Film Festival are an electric fan, a cab driver named Rick or Kelly Fields and the line of dialogue 'Is that all I am to you?'

Each group also gets its own genre, which include horror, thriller and sci-fi. Some categories are more difficult than others, like historical piece or mockumentary, said Brad Flick, a senior performing arts major and president of Cinema 16.

Figuring out the logistics is one of the hardest parts, Hotovy said. The three-person group needed a van, but the only place they could find a one was in Seward, a town a half-hour away.

'Getting everyone together is tough,' Hotovy said. 'And you don't know what you are going to do until Thursday.'

Some of the participants are film majors, and while that can be intimidating to some, the aspects of the movies that are judged the highest are how well the elements are incorporated and the best use of each element, Flick said.

'Only 10 percent of the judging is on film quality,' Flick said. 'I've seen non-film majors overtake film majors.'

Flick expects 11 movies to be submitted, though if they are late they can't compete. All films will still be shown at the Ross despite their submission time.

For Hotovy, the festival serves as a break from his normal routine, and though stressful, he said it is still fun.

'You gotta kind of love making films,' Hotovy said. 'It's kind of a break, different from crunching numbers.'

paigecornwell@dailynebraskan.com

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if you go

72-Hour Film Fest: All Funked Up

when: Tonight, 7 p.m.

where: The Ross

how much: $5

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