Congratulations to the Winners of the 2013 WFA 48-Hour Film Challenge

NEW YORK - Dec. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- WINTER FILM AWARDS, an Independent Film Festival organization in NYC, is pleased to congratulate the winners of the 2nd Annual 48-Hour Film Challenge.

The Challenge kicked off Friday Dec 6 at 8pm.  Thirty teams of filmmakers from the tri-state area were assigned a tagline from Ghostbusters ("Well, there's something you don't see every day!") and a Film Genre:  Action; Thriller;  Horror;  Western or Musical;  Romance or Comedy; Teen/College;  SciFi.  For a prop, Gray Line New York provided each team with one-hour private shooting time on a double-decker sightseeing tour Bus, complete with Tour Guide and Driver.

Teams had exactly 48 sleepless hours to decide what they were going to do, write a screenplay, assemble props, costumes and actors, rehearse, shoot, score and edit a 4-7 minute short film.

Completed films were posted to YouTube, where 30K+ online viewers cast 3k+ votes for Fan Favorite.  On Saturday December 14, entries were screened to a crowd of 150 fans at Blondies SportsBar in NYC.  Over $9k in prizes were awarded for BEST PICTURE, FAN FAVORITE, FIRST RUNNER UP and the HONORARY AWARD.  B&H Photo sponsored a $2500 Filmmakers Prize Package including a  Canon EOS 70D DSLR Camera with 18-135mm STM f/3.5-5.6 Lens, an X-Rite i1Display Pro, a Tenba Roadie Video Backpack and a Delkin Devices Fat Gecko Dual-Suction Camera Mount.

Other great prizes include NYC Helicoptor, Cruise, Bus Tour and Freestyle Tours provided by Gray Line New York; yearly memberships to IndieFlix; Enforcer DSLR Kit and Z-Finder Pro provided by Zacuto; SmartPhocus 3-Lens Bundle for iPhone; Nito Inc S3 Dojo Mobile Sound Studio; Gorilla, Story-O and Chimpanzee filmmaker software provided Jungle Software; Novice Rifle Classes provided by West Side Rifle & Pistol Range; Firearms for Film and Samurai Sword Fighting for Film classes provided by NY Action Actors Academy; Black Ops Laser Tag provided by Indoor Extreme Sports; Go-Kart Races provided by Pole Position Raceway; Pocket White Charts provided by DSC Labs; Chelsea Piers Passports and Flying Trapeze Lessons provided by Trapeze School NY!   Winning films will be screened at the 2014 Winter Film Awards Independent Film Festival February 27-March 1 in New York City.

BEST PICTURE, Veteran Productions "The Carrier" (Action, Cop, Spy)
Veteran Production (http://www.VeteranProduction.com) is a NY-based production company specializing in a variety of media categories.  Team leader Sergeant Dwayne Philibert, USMC (acting Sergeant Major) is COO of Brooklyn Youth Marines Inc, an extracurricular youth enrichment non-profit that serves New York City, Dutchess County and Westchester County’s youth. The program focuses on character and leadership development, physical fitness, community service and recreational activities for at-risk youth.  Director La'Mard Wingster is a martial artist, director of numerous action films and is the the acting Second Lieutenant for Dutchess and Westchester County youth Marines.

FAN FAVORITE, ESW Productions, "As Time Goes By" (Science Fiction)
ESW Productions (http://esw-productions.webs.com/) is a Carmel, NY based film company specializing in movie/television writing and production, film industry networking as well as web-based entertainment.  ESW's script for "As Time Goes By" was written in about an hour and a half, shot in about twelve hours and the rest was post production (and sitting in traffic).  "It was a ton of fun, and really rekindled a love of this sort of thing!" - Team Leader Salvatore Lagonia

FIRST RUNNER UP, Grape Dutches of York, "Crest Fallen" (Action, Cop, Spy)
Returning champions The Grape Dutches of York (www.grapedutches.com) are a sketch comedy troupe based out of Astoria, NY. The Dutches have been involved in various film festivals across the country and in New York City, and took home the prize for BEST SCREENPLAY at the 2012 WFA 48-Hour Film Challenge. The Dutches goal is to make funny, off-centered sketches that are rooted in their askew view of the world and the people that inhabit it.  Grape Dutches puts on a Monthly show at the Videology theater in Brooklyn.

HONORARY AWARD, Film Repertory Group, "This Apt Aint Big Enuff" (Western or Musical)
Film Repertory Group (http://filmrepertorygroup.wix.com/home) is a collective of local film artists devoted to producing, showcasing, and exposing great films.  Their goal is to unify all types of people interested in film-making, to create a place where everyone can contribute in producing truly great work, which shows off their skills and advances their careers and to develop a relationship with our audience and community, and build a reputation that will help expose the talents of all the artists involved.

SPECIAL MENTION, The Oddity Concept, "Lilly Bell" (Action, Cop, Spy)
The Oddity Concept is a team of 8th Graders making their very first film. Thirteen-year old Erica Marney, director/cinematographer, received her camera the day before the challenge and she’d never edited a film before. Her actors were all first-timers as well. Keep an eye on her — in 10 years, she may well be accepting her Oscar for Best Director!

Winter Film Awards (WFA) is a volunteer-run and operated celebration of the diversity of local and international film-making.  The WFA Mission is to recognize excellence in cinema and to promote learning and artistic expression for people at all stages of their artistic careers with a focus on nurturing emerging filmmakers from around the world. WFA is proud on their diverse collection of Festival selections, allowing audience to enjoy films they normally wouldn’t think to seek out.  The 3^rd Annual Winter Film Awards Independent Film Festival runs February 27-March 1 2014 in New York City.

For challenge rules, prizes, participating sponsors and more information about the Winter Film Awards, visit  www.WinterFilmAwards.com