A bevy of young exciting filmmakers debuted their original films last week at the 14th annual Red Carpet Event for the K-State 48-Hour Film Challenge of 2024.
With topics ranging from mourning a friend who died in combat to tap-dancing in the hallway with a ghost; with cinematography featuring underwater shots, quintuple-exposure shots, The Office-style mockumentary, and more; and with lots of clever, passionate, hilarious script-writing, these films provided a wonderful evening of entertainment, and showcased amazing K-State student talent.
The challenge was held on the weekend of March 23-24. Ten teams attended the kick-off event, where they received their instructions: use 3 given prompts, take 48 hours, and create your own 3-6 minute film!
This year, the teams had to use the following prompts somewhere in their films:
- line: “I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong”
- setting: a body of water
- prop: a Royal Purple Yearbook
The films were submitted Sunday evening, sent off campus for review by the panel of judges (Charissa Bertels, Dakota Cherney, and Clarissa Weers).
“Whew! 48 hours of less sleep, more caffeine, and a fantastic short film” commented participant Stephen Antwi (MA ’24, English): “It was a crazy experience that I would relive any day.”
On March 22, the filmmakers, stars, friends and family then gathered for the Red Carpet Event, screening all films and presenting awards (= cash prizes!).
The Teams at the Red Carpet
Ethno-Flicks (pictured: Abigail Reid, Stephen Antwi, Evan Gnagy, Jillian Routhieux)
Fish Fight Films (pictured: Jamie Chen, Ariana Swann)
Ghostbusters (pictured: Sarah Troyn, Anna Poggi-Corradini)
Starlight (pictured: Lillith Diener)
Sunstone Cinema (pictured: Thomas Adcock, Alawi Aledrous)
The Design Majors (pictured: Tennyson Gray, Aidan Glaser, Kate Lennon, Kaylen Johnson)
The United Legionaires of Zane (pictured: back row: Dominic Moore, Emmett Spaw, Atem Akui, Grey Hedenkamp; middle row: Zane, [friend of the production], Andrew Klassen, front row: Chris Gutierrez, GeriAnne Meals, Ashlyn Wills, Daphne Crews, Viridiana Barraza)
Jackulus Moonfang (pictured: Den Jackson, Rylan Jackson)
And the Winners Are….
Best Picture, First Place:
Haunted, by The Design Majors
Best Picture, Second Place:
Dirtbags, by The United Legionnaires of Zane
Audience Choice Award:
Dirtbags, by The United Legionnaires of Zane
Outstanding Performance:
Haunted Pond, by Ghostbusters
Outstanding Performance:
Dirtbags, by The United Legionaires of Zane
Outstanding use of prop:
Haunted Pond, by Ghostbusters
Outstanding comedy:
Sinner, by Jackulus Moonfang
Outstanding drama:
Blooming, by Ethno-Flicks
Summing up the event, best comedy winner Rylan Jackson (Eng BA ’26), who gave us the Horses v Unicorns in battle pictured below from Sinner, said: “It was surprising just how difficult it was to complete the film within 48 hours, but it let me see how a larger, more diverse audience would react to my work, which was really meaningful for me. It was the thrilling pinnacle of my semester, and one of my all-time favorite nights at K-State.”
Visit the 48-Hour Film Challenge YouTube channel to view all of this year’s entries as well as previous award years, and join us next year for the 48-Hour Film Challenge.
— Michele Janette, Professor of English / Film Studies Certificate Coordinator
K-State English 
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