Gathered in busy Malcolm X Plaza, SF State students ate and socialized during lunchtime. Many swarmed in small groups in and out of the bookstore and cafeteria. Between the building and the stairs a large group of anxious students with video, camera, sound, and cinema equipment assembled.

SF State made history on Nov. 12 with its first annual Alan Smithee Film Festival. The Cinema Collective, a campus-based student organization dedicated to filmmaking, hosted the event. Several students from the cinema department and various other disciplines gathered to kick off the 24-hour event at noon.

The Alan Smithee Festival is a speedy filmmaking effort where students divided up into four groups of five and were given 24 hours to write, shoot, edit, and complete a five- to 10-minute short film. All groups were given supplies, cinema equipment, and various necessities to survive the 24-hour assignment.

The idea originated from the University of California (USC) School of Cinema-Television where a similar festival called the Ed Wood Festival was held. Wood was notorious for making horrible films such as the cult classic “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” where he used makeshift space ships. Wood was a two-time winner of the Golden Turkey Award for worst film and worst director of all time.

In order to bring the same independent filmmaking and creative spirit to SF State, the Alan Smithee Festival was created. As for Alan Smithee, the name is a common pseudonym for directors whose film is taken away from him or her and re-cut heavily against their wishes in ways that completely alter the film, according to The Directors Guild.

The rules of the festival were simple but a bit challenging. First, the title of the movie needed to have one of the words "polka dot" or "bulb" in it. Next, "War is like grapes" must be an opening line. Finally, "There is something about ketchup, tuna fish and kool-aid powder that just doesn't mix" or "Endangered species are best prepared rare" must be used as a line anywhere in the film. With these unusual requirements and proper equipment, all the groups were off to produce their short film.

Joseph Matarrese, an SF State junior majoring in cinema, was the captain of a group that had four other film students responsible for acting, directing, and filming. Matarrese's group spent most of the afternoon writing, scripting, and preparing. By 6:00 p.m. Matarrese and his crew were busy shooting a scene under the evening lights of UN Plaza in downtown San Francisco.

"Our film is about this guy who wakes up tied up in a basement," said Justin Duke, an SF State junior majoring in cinema and a member of Matarrese's group. "He is some military guy who goes out seeking help to clear his name."

During the shoot the group set up an area at UN Plaza and filmed their scenes where the "guy" is met by an "undercover runner," an agent who gives him information to help solve his dilemma. After an hour of re-shoots, rearranging, and a little bit of joking around they wrapped up their scene, packed up and moved on to their next location--a block from City Hall to shoot their final scene.

Downtown at the Starbucks next to Virgin Records on Powell Street, Sam Messe, an SF State junior majoring in cinema and president of the Collective, was working hard filming one of his scenes.

"We didn’t want to use the same old campus background," said Messe, as he explained the reason why he wanted to use the backdrop of a downtown San Francisco location.

Messe spent most of this day brainstorming, writing, and filming the first scenes. His short film is about a pair of government agents who stop a weapons deal from going through. At Starbucks they shot a scene where a large sum of money is handed off.

"We plan to shoot several scenes throughout the night," said Messe. "I'm so excited."

As the night wore on the groups wrapped up in order to begin editing so they could make the Saturday noon deadline. At 7:45 a.m. Matarrese's group reported that they finished their chase scene at 5 a.m. and were in the process of editing as many of the crew members started to fade and crash for a short power nap.

“We were sitting in front of the computer and dozed off a few times,” said Duke.
Throughout the festival each group kept their ideas, use of mandatory lines, techniques, and overall concepts secret from each other. The outcome would not be discussed or viewed until screening day where all the groups showed off their work in front of all the groups and guests.

At noon on Nov. 13 a tired and fatigued group showed up at Malcolm X Plaza to turn in their work.

“I've been up for 30 hours," said Cristian Alvarado, an SF State junior majoring in cinema and a member of the Collective.

By 12:03 p.m. two of the groups had turned in their projects. The other two groups were wrapping up their editing and on their way to Malcolm X Plaza. Messe's father had flown in from Seattle earlier in the morning to share this special event with his son.

The purpose of the festival was to bring together various SF State students to build friendships and relationships to collaborate on future projects. The mission statement of the Collective states that the goal is to involve all the key departments on campus in order to have broadcasting, theater, and cinema work together as one.

"The Cinema Collective gathers creative energy, opens doors, and is accessible," said Sean Christensen, an SF State sophomore majoring in cinema and Collective event planner.

The results of the Alan Smithee festival were shown on Monday during the Collective's 5:30 p.m. meeting. However, more viewings are planned in the future. Look for dates posted on the Cinema Collective Web site at http://cinemacollective.8m.com.

For more information contact Sam Messe at samuel_messe@hotmail.com.