"It was like the opening night of the latest installment of 'Star Wars'..."
-Los Angeles Times
ABOUT INSTANT FILMS
Instant Films LLC was founded in 2002 to give writers, directors, and actors a challenging exercise in raw creativity by making short films (from “script to screen”) in one weekend. Instant Films participants have included top talents in the entertainment industry including award winning writers, directors and actors from television (True Blood, Mad Men, VEEP, The Comeback, Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, Will and Grace), film (Guardians of the Galaxy, Django Unchained, Old School, Godzilla), and theater (Miss Saigon, The Producers, Stomp). Since the first festival in May 2002, Instant Films has presented 30 live festivals where over 250 short films were completed in only one weekend. Each festival has a theme. Past themes have included Halloween, romance, dating, spies, and politics. The festival currently takes place at Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles and has been sponsored by Microsoft, Vitamin Water and Final Draft.
INSTANT FILMS PROCESS
Day 1 - Writing
At 8pm Friday night, 7 writers each select two random words and a cast breakdown (for example 2 woman, 2 men). Each writer has 12 hours to complete an eight page script which incorporates all of the above.
Day 2 - Production
At 8am Saturday morning, the actors and directors assemble and the writers deliver their scripts. The directors randomly pick one of the completed scripts. A cast is chosen randomly from the pool of actors. Production begins. The Directors have less than two days to shoot and edit their films using the cast they were assigned.
Day 3 - Production & Showtime
Directors bring their finished films to the theater by 6pm Sunday. At 8pm the films are shown to a live audience!
