Seven teams, seven films, 48 hours: FORKS48 heads to the screen
Seven teams had just 48 hours to write, shoot and edit an original short film during the first FORKS48 filmmaking challenge in Grand Forks.
The challenge ran from July 31 to Aug. 2 and was organized by Woodenball Studios as part of the inaugural Forks Film Festival. Each team received the same three required elements at 6 p.m. Friday: a fork had to appear as a prop, the line “The book was better” had to be used, and the story had to include a lie. Completed films were due by 6 p.m. Sunday.
Seven teams finished the challenge, producing Execute Owen by Team Marty McFly, Fork in the Road by Team KSBI, Forked by Team To Be Determined, Hands by Team Mama’s Boys, One Fork One Game by Team Sporks In The Road, Tenedor Date by Team Creston Valley Film Society and Trinkets by Team Criquets In The Brains.
The films will be shown Saturday, Aug. 22 at Gallery 2 — Grand Forks Art Gallery, 524 Central Ave. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the screening starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
The audience will also help decide which film gets another showing. The FORKS48 Audience Choice winner will be screened during the inaugural Forks Film Festival, which runs Sept. 25 to 27 at the Historic Gem Theatre in Grand Forks.
FORKS48 is part of a broader effort to create more filmmaking opportunities in the area. Woodenball Studios and the Forks Film Festival have also been involved in filmmaking workshops for children, teens and adults in Grand Forks and Christina Lake this summer.
Festival director Kostya Tyoschin, a 2022 Vancouver Film School graduate, founded the Forks Film Festival. Organizers have positioned the new festival as a place for small-town stories, young creators and first-time filmmakers, while also welcoming filmmakers with more experience.
The Aug. 22 screening will give audiences a chance to see what the seven teams created under the pressure of a two-day deadline and offer an early look at the local and regional filmmaking community developing around the new festival.
Eighteen Grand Forks athletes competed at the Canadian Junior Ultimate Championships in Surrey this month, with Natalie Sjoden returning home with a bronze medal as a member of Canyon Women.