Formal acknowledgment of great filmmaking in the Midwest can be hard to come by. Artistic centers in the United States are generally found on the coasts and in major cities. In Springfield, MO however there is a film festival that is becoming more popular and a jumping off point for filmmaking talent in the region. That festival is the SATO48-Hour Film Challenge. The title stands for: Springfield And The Ozarks 48.
Unlike other film festivals you might have heard of like Cannes and Sundance that premier finished work, in SATO48 competing teams have only 48 hours to write, film, and edit their 5 minute film creations.
The time constraint isn’t the only obstacle though, they also have to use or explicitly not use certain aspects of moviemaking that are given to each team as “Inspiration Packages”. For example, one year no one was allowed to use guns of any kind, and another year no voice-overs were allowed. These ground rules are given to the groups at the beginning of their 48-hour filmmaking race, which culminates on April 7th.
The Scoop talked to one of the co-creators of the event, Jeff Clinkenbeard, to learn more about the festival. Clinkenbeard explains that there were three main steps that started SATO48. First, they wanted to enhance culture in Springfield. Clinkenbeard explained that Kyaw Tha Hla the other co-creator of SATO48, and himself, grew up in Springfield and have family there although they both currently live in New York City. Because the two frequently return to Springfield Clinkenbeard says, “We didn’t want to go from this culture-rich environment of New York to Springfield.” As a result they came up with an event “where the interesting and talented people” can come to them. Secondly, Hla and Clinkenbeard had initially been given the idea after participating in a different 48-hour film competition in Albany New York where they first learned that this type of competition was technologically possible. Finally, they had been incited to action at the prodding of Mr. William Brandon Bowman, who Clinkenbeard described as the “Don of Springfield Art.” Then they “wrote a grant [application] to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and got some seed money.” They were aiming for 15 teams that first year in 2006 but got 35, which showed Jeff that “there is a lot of interest and hunger for this kind of expression in Springfield.”
Photo Credit: SATO48- Hour Film Challenge
The competition has since grown to become a successful event both in terms of numbers and in real career connections for participants. The number of teams entering has increased exponentially. So much so that in the past two years the three-digit barrier mark has been broken with over 100 teams entering in the past two seasons.
Beyond the growth in entrants, there are success stories of people finding new career opportunities from the SATO connection. “The amount of people that have gotten jobs and recognition because of their participation in SATO48 is astounding,” says Clinkenbeard.
One such success story is filmmaker Chris Canote who praises the festival whenever given the chance. “SATO48 is such an amazing thing,” Chris commented.
He first started entering SATO48 in 2008 and quickly rose in the ranks winning his first award in 2009. He’s been competing in the competition for 8 years now and is an established face in the festival. He’s made personal career advancements directly because of SATO48.
Canote also runs a YouTube channel called Canote Films for which he was able to interview actor Aaron Schwartz from the movies The Mighty Ducks, Heavyweights and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy 2 film. When Canote won the Audience Favorite award at last year’s competition with his 80’s parody film Little Renegade he got to go to Los Angeles where he met back up with Schwartz who offered him the director position for a short film Schwartz had been working on. He also met with actor Michael Ray Bowler. Both contacts cited his SATO48 works on the internet as being reasons why they wanted to meet Canote.
Photo Credit: Canote Films
How, might you ask, can you compete in next year’s festival? You’ll need to find a team for the competition. “One of the challenges is getting your entire team to have that weekend off so they can devote themselves to it,” say Clinkenbeard. April 7th, 8th, and 9th are the days the competition spans.
Registration opens up “multiple” weeks before the event at $25 per team, no matter how big the team is. The competitors meet at a predetermined place where the rules are explained and the inspiration package is handed out. Then the teams have exactly 48-hours to create their films. All films receive a screening at the Moxie from April 20th through the 23rd.
Right now SATO48 is a regional event but Clinkenbeard hopes that in the future it has a broader reach. “The long-term artistic goal of the event is that it will become one of the premiere creative experiences in Springfield where both established people and new people [participate],”.
As the competition moves into its second decade, Clinkenbeard has dreams of film appreciators marking SATO48 on their list of festivals to visit along with South by Southwest and Cannes. If it keeps heading in its current direction, it might just get there.
