The “48 Hour Film Project” is the largest filmmaking competition in the world. The competition started in Washington D.C. and has been established since 2001. Teams, ranging from beginners to pros, work together to produce a film in one weekend. Once the 48 hours begins, teams will receive their genres and required prop, character, and line they must use to qualify for the competition. Teams must, also, write, shoot, and edit their films by the turn in time on Sunday night. At the awards event, held in March, local judges determine the winning films. More than a dozen awards are given ranging from “Best Directing” to “Best Acting” to the top prize: “Best Film.”
Kylie Morton, a sophomore majoring in musical theatre, was the assistant director and a lead writer for Averett’s team. “Teams were given two genres each. We were specifically given ‘Horror’ and ‘Romance’ and decided to use both. All teams were required to use a wallet prop, a specific line, and either Lance/Leia Korbin as a character,” Morton said. “The plot of our film revolved around a young couple, Lance and Ivy Korbin, who had a seemingly normal relationship, but underneath the surface Ivy was obsessive. In the end, it is revealed that Ivy murdered Caitlyn, Lance’s sister, because she got in the way.”
William Ortega-Wilson, a community member, played Lance Korbin. Ortega has participated in previous Averett shows such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
“I played Lance Korbin who is the loving husband of Ivy. He loved his sister and was shocked with the news of her passing. He was disheartened by the fact she took her own life, but later found out Ivy was the one who took her life. We spent one full day doing all the filming. It was quite long, but I feel it paid off,” Ortega said. “I’m very excited to see how we placed amongst the other schools knowing that this was a competition made for school’s with film departments.”
Averett’s team placed within the top 16 for the award “Audience’s Choice.” No official awards have been revealed yet, but will be presented at Filmapalooza in 2026. Judges will take into consideration artistic merit, technical merit, and how closely teams followed the required elements when making their decisions. You can keep up the Averett’s progress on their Instagram @averett_theatre.
