Going to see a movie can be expensive. Between the price of admission, popcorn, candy and a drink, you’re looking at a small fortune.
And if you wanted to go out for 10 movies, forget about it. Might as well get a second job to cover that price tag.
But luckily for film lovers everywhere, we have a way to watch a bunch of cinematic creations for absolutely no cost at all. How, you ask? Well, all you have to do is make your way to the Concord High School Film Society’s 3rd Annual Film Festival.
On May 27 at 6 p.m., the Chirsta McAuliffe Auditorium will be the place in Concord to catch a little bit of everything when it comes to movie genres and like we said before, it’s all free.
“It’s kind of an experiment,” said co-president Nick Skafidas of the free admission.
Over the last couple months, the film society has been receiving submissions for the one-night only event – even a couple on the last day – to bring the total film watching experience to double digits. But don’t worry, these are not feature length films so you don’t have to be mentally prepared or properly caffeinated for an all nighter.
Most of the films originate in New Hampshire, including Sunday Reunion, created by former society president Pedro Pimentel’s company Manguetown Pictures, and three from society members.
“Usually we do a big film all together,” Skafidas said of the society. “But we wanted them to be their own directors.”
There’s also two from as far away as the United Kingdom. Who knows maybe they’ll add the classy international label to the film festival down the road?
The films range in length from just a second over two minutes to 11:27. The requirements put a 15-minute length restriction, so you’re probably looking at about a three hour night when all is said and done.
“This is a film lover’s paradise,” said co-president Dominic Scotti.
Each film will be introduced by Skafidas, using a description written by the directors about what their creation was supposed to mean.
At the midway point of the evening, there will be a 30-minute panel discussion featuring Pimentel, a representative from Hammer & Saw Films, a N.H. based company whose film Exit 7A will be shown, and member Kim Payne, who submitted her film making debut, Baby Sitters Beware.
Payne’s film got rave reviews from the society’s co-presidents, who didn’t have the same kind of luck on their first tries.
“It’s very impressive for a first ever film,” Skafidas said. “Film making is a lot harder and takes more time than you think.”
It taught her a lot about the industry, from creating a screen play all the way to getting the right shots in to make it a film people actually want to watch. Now she’s currently got two other projects in the works.
“The directing process was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Payne said.
Once the credits roll for the final film, the end of the evening will be drawing near, but not before passing out some awards.
“This isn’t a competition. It’s a celebration of film making,” Skafidas said. “The awards are the best part and everyone gets an award.”
In years past, the film society has used a certain theme to define their festival, but that changed this year. Skafidas and Scotti didn’t want to put restrictions on submissions or force society members to make a certain kind of film so they made it open to comedies, horrors and everything in between. And the response was better than expected.
“It’s definitely a variety of genres,” Scotti said.
Just go watch all the submissions and see for yourself. And if you can’t make it, follow along live on Twitch, twitch.tv/chs_film_society.
And while in years past, admission has served as a fundraiser for the society’s film making endeavors or the following year’s festival, this time around there will simply be donation jars spread around and an intermission bake sale.
“We’re focusing more on the films and the art than making money,” Scotti said.
For more info or to reserve your seat, visit chsfilmsociety.weebly.com or email CHSFilmSociety15@gmail.com. Also check out facebook.com/chsfilmsociety for updates. You can also just show up at the door. With over 400 seats in the auditorium, we’re pretty sure you’ll be able to find one.
