Maple Films has already assembled a 10-person crew, a list of actors and locations for their movie. But the members of the local production company have no idea what the film is even about.
As a competitor in the annual 48 Hour Film Project, founding member Dustin Lee knows each minute counts when you have two days to write, shoot, edit and score your entry.
"We work until we can't work," he says.
On July 11, Maple Films and more than 40 other teams will convene at Jake's Lounge at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center to receive the genre, main character, prop and one mandatory line of dialogue. After that, anything goes for two days.
"You can tell how someone's weekend has been by how they look when they show up on Sunday," Lee adds.
All of the team's films are then presented July 22 and 23 at Tower City Cinemas, with screenings of the award-nominated films Aug. 7 at the Capitol Theatre.
Last year, Lee's short Undue Process won an audience award and three judges' awards, including second runner-up for best film. Lee relives how they made movie magic in only 48 hours.
MORE INFO: 48hourfilm.com/cleveland
