The Missing Bank Card 3: The Last Debate of Abraham Lincoln from Dave Spooner on Vimeo.
Before the actual "Showcase" began which ran the top 20 films entered into the contest, there was a screening of other notable films not related to the contest. Within that special screening they also ran last year's contest winner by Dave Heinzel "Press Play" as well as BOTH our first two films; The Missing Bank Card 1 and 2. A couple other films also made their debut (unrelated to the contest) from local high-school's and other national Independent Film makers to wrap up the special showcase. But you could tell that this was going to be a special night for us right from the get-go.
Then the Top-20 showcase began to kick off the ceremony, in it were your standard Land of Lincoln commercial-films, and other films that just didn't make any sense, all mixed in with some well-shot but un-fleshed stories, and some well-fleshed-out stories but horribly shot. And then there were a couple that really shined, like some hand puppet acting, and a film shot on a Canon 7D with some gorgeous DOF.
In the end though, our film was a triumphant riot. While there weren't as many laugh-out-loud moments in the 3rd film as there were in the films before, you could tell that it still captivated the audience, and the climactic applause at the end was worth the trip alone.
This year the contest organizers decided to add an "Audience Choice" award in which the members of the audience were each given a voting placard with the list of the top-20 films, and after all the films were shown they voted on their favorite. We certainly didn't have the largest group in the crowd, but we still won the award! The audience voted on US!
After that unexpected but uplifting award, they also announced the winner of the coveted "Best Film" award, which we won! Paul brought us all down there to the podium with him, and I couldn't think of anything coherent to say, but I was really happy.
The afterparty was fun, I was able to make a couple contacts that were interested in my abilities and then we made the 3 hour drive home late at night.
So, what's next?
We had a long friendly talk with Dave Heinzel, the director of the previous year's winners, and challenged us next year. So we will probably go head-to-head next year with our films, whatever they will be.
I also have some ideas myself, and it might be possible that, in addition to possibly helping Paul with next year's film, that I might have my own submission as well. I was in the middle of an animated short for the contest this year, but I decided to focus on Paul's film instead, so I may finish it for next year.
I also have an idea for a "Twilight Zone" esque film that I still need to flesh out. But I enjoyed creating "They Hunger" so much that, even with a small cast (me and my wife), I feel like I could put something noteworthy together for next year's contest.
Next year's contest was once a shot in the dark a few months ago, but now I may have my hands full again come next June!
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