The Immortal Think Tank

Detective Zeta

What a surprisely sweet film! I love that it's set in 3008 but still felt 80s in terms of production design. Great set and costumes. Some really funny moments. I had a visceral reaction to the slime licking haha, which in hindsight I'm suddenly realizing that I don't know what it was, because at the time I assumed it was alien slime, but there was no alien haha. So what was she licking lolllll. Icky xD Anyway! The fight scene was great! I love that Zeta didn't hesitate for a second to refuse her order, and the tenderness between the two characters was so lovely and it hit all the deeper because of the contrast to the rest of the film. I loved it. One of those films that leaves you feeling good

The Bonnet

Super funny. I loved the escalation and everyone not living up to her fantasys. This was well written, shot, and edited. There were a lot of characters to establish and they were all established well for what you needed. Them coming together at the end was fun. All around excellent job

Face The Music

I took very rough notes in the dark of the theatre which read - ‘It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m a vegetarian. Pizza, sleep, coffee, toilet. Lots of toilet. Colour and B&W - fun. The red outfit is my fav. In toilet with him. Great dancing.’

We love this film, our kids too. They have their own emails for school, so we let them vote this year and they both went ‘our film, grandma’s film, and that cool band one, mum!’ So a winner of a film for the whole family haha.

You all are such fun to watch.

The Hit List

Loved the drama with majority of the film being told with music, expressions, names crossing out etc. Loved that funny last line about how she knew it was him!

Trip Hazard

I managed to catch this in the heats and again last night and I just really love it. I think life is so much more wonderful when we can appreciate all the odd little quirks that make up a place like Dunedin haha. And with all the chaos going on around the world atm, I needed this film in my life! I felt like it embodied the best parts of being kiwi, like our humour and the things we want from life, and randomly steep residential roads xD Plus I'm pro women advocating for themselves, especially at the expense of a relationship if that's what needs to happen. Thank you for making it, watching it was a fun-derful time

Elijah's Ladder

What a powerful film. So impressed it was a solo project, and your film poster is perfect for this too. I don't even know if I can find words to convey what watching this was like. It gripped, and it left me feeling all kinds of things. I needed a beat afterwards to process, and I wanna go watch it again.

Repeating the words as you climbed built the anticipation. I wanted to see what you saw, I wanted to connect the dots too. The whole thing felt like a poem.

So, so good.

Also your team intro was great haha.

COLLEAGUES

Sorry about the disqualification, I loved this film! I loved the transition between sitcom colours and what it looked like through his eyes. I like the idea that maybe he didn’t exist at all, except when he was delivering packages? The escalation into the violence, the persistently sitcom-ness of all the characters while being brutally murdered, the terror of being trapped lol. All excellent, and very surreal. The kind of terror that builds in your brain as you watch and realise there is no escaping. It leaves an impression haha. Outstanding job!

The Fast and the Studious

Fun music, classic shenanigans, super funny. The two actors breaking into the school were great to watch, very charismatic. Their fantasy of how "good" the security guard probably wouldn't be was hilarious. Very much enjoyed watching

Midnight Milk

I’m on board with this level of intense questioning over very real problems like there being no milk left haha. So many great puns, “makes my blood curdle,” and great lines in general, “thank god it’s milk.” Agree with wormy that this was an excellent inhaler moment, a great way to bring the noir atmosphere to modern everyday haha. You guys are super funny and easy to watch, thanks for all the laughs

Triumph of Bolgador

Oh yay! I went to review this last night and was bummed to not find it haha, so glad you've added it today!
Firstly, I love when our pets get to ttrpg with us. They deserve a chance to be heroes too! (Or actors!)
I am very impressed at all the dialogue you fit into one take so naturally. I don't know if you rehersed/memorized or if it was improvised, but it was brilliant. Love wardrobe (hat). And I might be showing my bias a little because I'm always going to love info dumping gaming nerds, but this film one of my favs of the night. Please tell Archer good job and give him lots of pats

Almost Wanted

Wow! Was this frame by frame animation, because I'm so impressed at what you accomplished in a weekend. You made a lot of very smart choices to get it done on time well, like security camera for the one take genre, and the speech bubbles that were a mix of words and animation. I loved the angle. Did you draw the fish eye lens on all the characters/setting or edit it to be that way afterwards because it looked great. It's not an easy angle/shot to draw. The crayon /sketchy texture around the frame was nice too. Beautiful colours, funny story, smart choices, executed well. Great job

Larry in the Corner

Huge wow! This was such a great concept and the actors went hard at embracing all those bits. The dead tired frustration with everything going on, and delving into all those various paralysis demon characters.

I think your story big idea to tackle in a 5 minute allotment. A great watch, but I if you wanted to develop it into a 20 minute short film, it could be an even greater watch. It'd give you more time to explore all the trauma/stories that lead to those various demons, just more development time in general, so the audience could appreciate and linger a little longer in all the build up before the conclusion.

But for that much story and that many characters in such a short time frame, and filmed in one weekend, you did brilliant. I hope you all keep acting and making things because you're a joy a joy to watch

Ignotus

You guys did a good job of making the footage really appear like it was from 1991. I enjoyed the editing with the static and the entity special fx

Piss off

Guts about the disqualification, you guys are hilarious. Best line of the night - "please stop tasting the puddle." I think, just as a niggly thing, this film could be taken to that next level with another round of editing just to bring it together tighter. But you're so funny. If you don't already, you could totally consider starting a skits YouTube channel or something cuz I'd subscribe

Idle Vapourings of a Mind Diseased

This was immediately funny, starting with the tooth and then escalating. I know she wasn't supposed to be the most likable politician but I kinda loved her audacity haha, acted very well too. Ending on the painting wrapped it up nicely :D Loved it

A Hundred Ways to Kill a Baby

This felt like a pretty accurate experience of parenthood, at least in regards to costs haha.

There were some neat shots in there, like up through the box. I like your baby design, it was weirdly cute for something so roboty shaped and mustached adult man faced. And seeing the stack of them at the end after they were certified was a funny last shot. A super shenanigans-y film that was fun to watch

Don't look at...

Super neat editing with the static. I loved the dramatic pauses when talking about the photo initially and realising it was changing. The actor kept the emotional tension rising super well. The fear was very believable, and the panicked laughter interwoven as she tried to convince herself that she was just tired felt very relatable given the situation

The Odyssey

I have no idea how to review this film, haha! I mostly sat there with my mouth wide open going wtf, but I think in a good way? I don't know lolllll

Give Yourself Permission

Oh also, I think your film was the last one of the Around Aotearoa heats, and what a lovely one to end on. Thank you for reminding us to play

She Taught Me How to Dance

I’m sorry about the disqualification. Your lead was oddly charming even while acting obnoxious haha, so it was fun to watch him unsuccessfully navigate this story. Like the person above said, a lot of commitment getting into the water this time of year! The make up on the drowned is very cool. I don’t know if your disqualification is because of the song, but I understand why you wanted it, it amplified the otherworldliness of everything going on.

POWER POSSESSION

Wow this film. I think you can probably take this straight from 48 hours and chuck it at other film festivals haha. I don't know if the 4 of you are also a family in real life? But I could tell there were some very smart choices the whole way through this film to make it seem like you're all (including the children and adorable doggy) very practiced professionals. Your youngest actress did an amazing job being possessed. Filming her and playing it backwards (I think?) for that sort of disjointed possessed body language was clever. I loved Mum's positivity the whole way through, complimenting her daughter's drawings and gently encouraging her son not to scare his sister. I am a mum of similar aged children and it made me laugh because it was so like the convos I have with my own kids, trying to support and encourage them to grow, and engage and be in the moment with them, while probably missing all kinds of stuff cuz we have about a billion things going on in our brains as we're doing our best to keep on top of everything. And this is a weird sentence, but I loved all the ways they met their various ends, especially the dog eating the boy in the bath (again, both brilliant actors). Please give massive high fives to the kids, you should all be so proud of your film. Thank you for the fun watch

A New Friend

Did the do the transformers stop motion? Cuz that was pretty cool haha. I read the caption for your film here before watching so made assumptions about why a friend device would lead to mass murder along the lines of friend gone rogue, and I very much enjoyed being wrong. The slow motion chair kill lol, it must have been fun to come up with all the various ways to off the clones. I love that you included all your fav things. I had fun guessing what the correct answer to fav anime was. And the ending was excellent karma

HARD CASE

So good! Great casting for the roles you wrote. The voice of the hero, he totally had that whole gravelly "I will find you" Liam Neeson type voice down. I thought the whole film was shot so well with shots and editing that emphasized various power dynamics, made it interesting to watch, and upped the drama etc. The gunfire looked awesome. Always good to hear the wilhelm scream, too haha. A+ job!

The Interrogation

I love the rumour, might be my fav one yet haha, super fun way to include one. The killer had very nice nails so I immediately thought I knew who it was. But I was wronggg.
The shots panning side to side between interrogation subjects was a fun way to cut between them! The interrogation room lighting was spot on too

Between Us

I dunno, the discussion is super interesting and there's no way to reply to reviews or anywhere else to have them. Maybe being able to reply to reviews like a thread could be a feature to consider adding

Where's Larry Scrapp?

There's a few ways to build tension in a film and one of those is to tell the auidence what is going to happen and then show it happening. Having that prediction at the start meant I was anticipating all those moments.

I loved the timelaspe around the bartender, I thought it was an excellent way to show the ordeal she was going through, haha. The build up to checking under her car kept me hooked, and then the ending to bring it full circle. Lots of smart story telling!

Also, was there a note to the judges on the tap? I need rewatch lollll

Great job :)

Headspace

Oh my gosh. I watched this then had to rewind and immediately watch it again.

I missed the TV being broken the first time the camera panned past so when I finally saw the chaos around her, it hit me hard. I watched it back and it's there the whole time but I was so focused on her and on him that I couldn't see beyond them initially.

This was so good you guys. I can't even words properly lol. I'm mind blown that you did both one take and musical. It was an amazing combo and both done so well. The song, while sad, is a banger. I would add it to my general playlist to listen to all the time lol. Your lead was so compelling to watch, she had me crying.

This was just so good. I hope more people see/saw and give you more coherent reviews than I've been able to. I think you'll do really well in this competition

Stuck

That made me uncomfortable, which I think was the point haha. It was very artistically shot, edited, and told. Very intense. I don't know the age range your team is, but when you introduced yourselves at the start, you all seemed fairly young, and so I'm quite in awe of not just what you tackled, but how well you did it. Like a big heavy story, told like a piece of art. Good luck in the competition, I hope your team does really well

Red and Blue

I expected the end to be paintings combined because of a fight but did not at all see the third person and the face slaps coming haha, that was a fun surprise. And the paintings look pretty cool! Good on you all for tackling musical. I enjoyed the interwoven story too, between the auction and flashing back to the creation of the paintings

Charlie

You got some loud genuine laughs out of us as we watched! I love petty revenge stories. I got so caught up in all the funny rumours that I completely forgot about the initial "murderer" convo that happened, so when we got to "too late, it's already on the news," we found the esculated reveal hilarious. And then the twist! Shoulda seen it coming but was too busy enjoying the chaos.

Out of Control

First shot felt exactly like I was listening to my own kids argue about where the remote is haha. The remote being on the floor the whole time is very accurate. That was a lot of animation to get done in a weekend, and you managed a complete story which is very impressive. A lot of different assets, backgrounds, elements, moments etc. I can see how much work it took,so awesome job on getting it in

Fowl Hand

Fun dialogue! Cool costumes, brilliant acting. I think I got a little lost at points storywise, though got the jist. I wonder if some of the storytelling became secondary to the old timey dialogue or if it was me doing a poor job following lol. But regardless, it was so fun to watch you all passionately throw those lines at each other and I found the mix of timelines/flashbacks, colour vs black and white etc chaotic but interesting. Definitely stuck in my brain in a good way visually. Having everyone named after directors was fun, too haha, and the conclusion that the town wasn't big enough for either of them was funny and a good one

Hacked Off

Hii! Loved your film so, so much. Topical story, with those rushed through cuts going on. Every part of it was funny - the monitor not being plugged in, the cringing at the light, the addressing the elephant in the room, trying to find the right cord haha. Seeing pinball felt nostalgic. Your editing was great, very "hacky," and all the lines were delivered and acted so well. Great script. Awesome job all around!

Death by Dress Code

I love the mystery of trying to figure out what the crime could have been alongside watching them figure it out. I enjoyed some of your neat shots, like the shadows along the cowshed wall. Such a severe punishment when we got there! But understandably haha.
I like the way so many of you were able to be part of the cast and get a chance to deliver lines and contribute to the story. And such a big team behind the scenes as well. Awesome job working together to make a fun film

The Good Wife

You were a very passionate woman scorned. I enjoyed the storytelling, the drama, and I loved the lighting, colours, and set

Sox & Violence

This is one of those films that has stuck in my brain since I watched it and I've told multiple people about it. I feel like socks get overlooked too often. The sockapellas in pitch perfect, and now Sox and Violence in the 48 Hour Film Fest. I see your excellence, I see the puns, I see the socks, and I'm here for it

Back to the Drawing Board

I always look out for the animated films because they're my fav medium for any kind of storytelling, and to do this in 48 hours blew my mind. You did a phenomenal job of combining live action and 2D animation. The characters really did feel like they were in the same space, especially when they were grabbed, and when they were yelling through the glass for help. Amazing work under such tight time constraints

Small Town

I thought this was so charming, I really enjoyed it and the different styles of music (the country was pretty good despite your lack of Americaness lolol) and the toes pic was funny. And the "something in there that rhymes with dogs," haha. I especially loved the animated portrait. Glad to see he got the 2.3b views he deserved

Spring Cleaning

There was a small part of me that expected violence when the robot hugged him haha 😂

This was very sweet, and packed a lot of emotion in a very small time frame. Great animation :)

A.I. Dream of Genie

This was so fun (and a topical haha). Some of the lines were a little hard to hear but for the most part okay and just a really satisfying watch! It might be my creative prejudice speaking but I loved watching an AI 'writer,' even one who trained AI on his own stories, get shut out x) So yeah, great story! Enjoyed

Reputation

There are so many parts of your film that were great. You did Noir so well. I love when the same dialogue follows the narration haha. When I saw the tied up person was quite modern looking, I was hoping it'd cut out of the noir into modern everyday and you delivered. I love the idea of someone's inner voice being all 40s/50s dramatic noir detective. The pacing was excellent, too, with the drama and chaos escalating. Great job

Ruin

If someone said this was taken straight out of a fantasy tv show, I’d believe them. Amazing costumes, makeup, acting, landscape, shots, tension building, just everything. The reaction on her face to the phone vibrating, spot on haha. Larping is so much fun.

The Second Sprouting

I am just so amazed at what you accomplished in a weekend. You felt like a big-ish team, but were able to came together so cohesively to make such a brilliant, funny, well acted, well told story. You were audience fav for a reason! I also think it was the kind of story where everyone involved got to have their moment, playing all those fun characters, which is a great way to celebrate a team full of amazing creatives. Huge well done

Snuffed Out

The time you spent writing this was time well spent! The story she was telling sounding like a report of a job, while also showing us that it was about so much more was well done. There were some super funny moments, like the 10 guys haha, and the bad blow (being called a skank). It was excellent double meaning story telling. I thought it was a really funny twist that her partner was also there listening to the report the whole time. You both acted so well, the costumes were very cool, and visually this whole film was nice to look at with good contrast

S.Q.R.T.

Where to start!
Great wallpaper. Great set, costumes, overall vibe. I especially loved the ad portion of your film. Part of me kinda wanted the whole thing to be an ad with people phoning in to review, or the main character’s chaos chaos-ing in the bg of it or something, but mostly because the ad looked so great haha.
I really enjoyed the props on the lab side. His hat thingie, and the typey buttony thingie. Your films always have such wonderful locations, this one included. I’m so impressed every year by the variety of locations, costumes, and stories.
I think some of your other films have a little more depth/layers than this one, but depth isn’t always needed. Sometimes it’s just fun to watch a very endearing man in a woman’s body be tasked with something that requires an insane amount of training to do properly and go through an escalating amount of f-ing it up haha. I have a headcanon now that they actually do become friends and he’s baby’s godparent.
But as I’ve come to expect from your films, SQRT is expertly made. You seem to have a formula that works very well, and I’m so glad that we get to keep enjoying all the brilliance that are films by The Great Lake Film Society.

The Bad Tasting Hero

I've just updated our youtube file to exclude our credits so my children's names are left offline etc :) Unfortunately I can't replace the file there with a new version that has different credits. But I've written the credits here, too, under the video :)

Murdered by a Bad Review

I am here to say amazinggg job! This is 100% a good review, please don't show up at my house.

The immediate shots outside felt tense, then cutting to the family with starkly different sound drew me in.

And then the retribution! The cheese for the cheese. And as soon as I heard the words "mind blown," I was like oh no.

You guys nailed comedy horror! I love a scene that goes on too long. Like an appropriate and funny amount of too long. And the distant beach scene with the far away sound etc.

All your shots and sound supported the story, and it was written and acted well.

Also on a personal note, I make creative content that goes online, and there's always a few comments that just get ya, so watching this was carthartic x)

Sitcomland

Sitcomland is great fun! As an illustrator, watching the main character be interrupted while just trying to paint drove me crazy too haha. Just let us do our art! Haha.
I loved the sitcom bit. It was interesting that American sitcom family was what he perceived to be ‘a normal family’ lol, but I think an interesting reflection about how we unconsciously decide what normal is, through the media we consume? So that added another layer to the film I appreciated.
My one bit of confusion was that Dad at the start was over the top, loud, in ya face, upbeat, talking about the neighbour’s shitbox Holden etc haha. But then the Dad at the end seemed quite different - quiet, a little more withdrawn, and serious. It confused me for a minute wondering if he had come home to the right family or if something had changed/gone wrong.
Otherwise though, so many good bits and a fun watch. Great job

Eighties Action Movie

I enjoyed every moment of how hard you leaned into 80s action movie, it was so funny. I loved the wigs, the sunnys, the shot inside with the fighting outside, and loved how well you nailed what 80s action fight scenes looked like. We genuinely laughed out loud at the interruption of the bad guys' speech, the small toy RPG, and the resulting large explosion. Great, great job, just so fun to watch

Two Million Windows

Incredible, like poetry. This felt like a story you needed to tell, but also unfortunately one the world still needs to hear. I can't even imagine what the weekend must have been like for you, reliving all of this, but thank you for making it.
It wasn't just an important story, but one told well. Visually stunning - the lighting, the colours, the shots etc, the projected picture over his face. It definitely hit, I was in tears.
And some really stunning lines, including the one you named the film after, 'two million windows in this city, not one of them mine.'
My husband teaches English at a secondary school. He said if you're happy to make this public on YouTube after the competition, he would like to add it to the list of short films he teaches his students.

A Man of Great Taste

Oh my gosh lol, I don’t even know where to start, so funny. This was very relatable even before knowing the reason beyond fishing that he was there, like that desire to get away and have some peace. The escalation of people interrupting (their map lollll!), and all the shenanigans were so fun and led up to that very heavy moment well. Moments like that hit heavier after shenanigans. And the ending, just chef’s kiss haha. The entire film was excellent

EAR WORM.

Cool opening shot! The red vs green. And immediately funny with the "but those were just contributing factors." I love visual representations of ideas. Like the earworm's face pressed right up in the side of his head, no personal space. And then the worm question, and "I only counted 6, I was way off." So many funny moments. Great looking film too, colours wise. And then did the credits play twice? Was it to cement the song as an earworm in our heads? Cuz it worked lolllll

Auto Intelligence

This feels like a weird sentence to write but - I very much enjoyed watching the dad die haha! The drama, the slow mo, the lego special fx, very fun haha. There were a couple parts outside where it was a little tough to hear, but overall, amazing job. It built tension, was a fun twist on 'AI', and I enjoyed the bloopers :)

To the Altar

Immediately a beautiful film in terms of colours and set. All the characters felt very natural in terms of wedding doco and getting ready, albeit the sorta manic pixie dream girl thing haha. Some really funny lines and delivery in there - "Have you ever heard of, um, oh tindr!"
I totally bought into the wedding and missed all the cues for what was really coming until I reflected afterwards haha. The not having to worry about his vows, the special diet and filling out his suit. I was 100% caught off guard, it was brilliant. The lighting and the gore etc at the end was dramatic and very cool/arty to look at. This was a ride start to finish and I enjoyed every minute

Blame It On The Boogie

This is about a six or seven.
Just kiddingggg. Solid 10. Amazed you made this on your own. So many shots to keep track of, and the audio carrying across the cuts was awesome. It especially made all the interruptions so brutal and funny haha. Also the dead person pose! I just giggled whole way through. Super solid sound effects and credit music too

Detention

I had to look away at the intestines, and still laughed the whole way through. Some great practical effects. I particularly enjoyed being shot so hard the moustache fell off haha

Wink Murder

All of the time you spent writing was 100% worth it. So many fish puns and miscommunications, all flowing naturally and hilarious. And not just the dialogue, but things like the excessive smoke in the face for the chest comment haha. I think Wink Murder is an example of how, even if you maybe don’t have professional level filming equipment?, you can still make a top notch film. Also whoever drew the art at the start, you have a very cool style, great drawings.

CODE Brown

This was so fun, with a great lil twist at the end haha! Also made me think there should be a stunts award - those flips, that rollerblading etc, amazing

Level 9

It was very fun to get some neon with the noir! I loved your costumes. The editing and shots were super interesting with the cuts to eyes, mirror, lit cigarette etc. And I loved the shot of the smoke curling up at the end as she walked away. Great job

Calming The Storm

I wasn’t sure where this was going to begin with but was enjoying all the little moments along the way, like the keys in the microwave, checking teeth and hair in camera haha, wrapping his head in tinfoil, double tripping etc. Sometimes it’s just good fun to watch a bit of silliness and there was a lot of that, and it really was good fun. But it also all came together very nicely at the end. A great comedy of errors film where the errors ended up serving a purpose. I hear it’s a pretty solid business strategy to create a problem then sell the solution, so I see a very bright future ahead of main character. And you know he’s a problem solver cuz, ‘oh sorry, I’m busy,’ got him out of a fight haha.
I also really enjoyed all the locations around Tauranga. It was awesome to see you highlight some of the cool art we’re so lucky to have here, including high fiving the hands and the punk rocker utility box (one of my favs).
This was a really solid effort, and you should be proud of what you made :)

Lost Cat

You did a great job of show don't tell, with everything she was saying on the phone clearly being shown to us as a lie and what the truth really was. I loved the colours and the lighting. I love the lost cat painting, it would have been a great film thumbnail too. I especially loved the last shot of her silhouetted before the shrine

NO GIVESIES BACKSIES

I immediately loved the concept of a no givesies backsies garage sale. The perfect amount of ominous and interesting, and in real life my curiosity would win out and I'd have to browse haha, although I know the characters didn't see the small writing. The shot of them going into the house where we got to see the small writing was fun.
It was quite trippy following him through the house via a close up of his face. We couldn't see any of what he was seeing, but we could see all his reactions and that was very fun because it left room for imagining all kinds of things.
The actor committed SO hard to all that physical comedy, it was very funny. And his sucking the wees back in face was obviously a sucking the wees back in face, even before we saw the wees being sucked back in lol! I never realised there was a recognizable face for that very specific experience so great job on nailing it. We got a lot of laughs from your film and enjoyed it very much

Damsel in this dress

I went and found my notes from the first time I watched this cuz it wasn't on the screening room yet and I didn't wanna forget to review this brilliance. They're scrawled roughly across the page in short barely legible writing cuz I didn't wanna look away and read - "LOOLLLLL, LOVE! Nipple grip! The 3rd dress! Not the double bass! Lol the gun. Shot her with an arrow! The 4th dress! Is the queen wearing the dress? The blood face after the flicked bullet! Gingerbread ninja stars! Intentional penis shot? I love excessive violence over such important issues!"

Anyway haha, I have not forgotten your film. I am really bummed you weren't shortlisted but I'm also enjoying sending this on to my friends.

Before 48 hours, I wasn't much of a short film watcher, so watching the vast array of films that come through the competition has been an amazing experience. I'm in awe at the layers and depth people can get into a 5 minute story. Those films have a way of lingering with you after watching them.

But so do films that are unapologetically themselves. A bloodbath of matching dress driven chaos! This film is exactly what it intended to be, and I LOVE it.

As far as long, chaotic fights go, I think you paced it well, too. There were little pauses or slowed down moments here or there that gave us a second to have a break before escalating it again, allowing us to enjoy the esculation without becoming overwhelmed. It was cartoonishly brutal (and I mean that as a compliment). I loved the green screen fight on the roof too.

Plus! The easter eggs! We love a tusken raider moment (nailed the cry)!

I imagine the shortlist today maybe felt confusing or disappointing. Auckland seems like quite a competitive region to be a part of. But please know that your film is adored, gave us so many laughs, and is now giving more people laughs. I think there's a lot of value in giving an audience so much enjoyment. Thank you for giving that to us. I hope it was as fun to make as it was to watch :)

The Greatest Man Never Known

I loved seeing how pleased and excited Cedric was about his projects/passions etc. I can demphasize with the struggle of finding time for creative pursuits, haha.

I thought this was a fun way to show found footage. I don't think we ever saw another person, right? Cedric's actor did so well being only person on the screen and giving us so much to work worth visual story wise - showing the excitement, then the struggling to hold on to the excitement, the determination, then the slowly having it ebb away. All subtle but building across the whole film. Great acting, really enjoyed the film. Hope that poor made up man got more time somewhere for all those projects haha

Stalkward

This was a very fun comedy of errors film that also could fit the comedy horror genre too I think haha. You kept the tension rising from the note on the door right up to the meeting in the forest, but interspersed it with such funny moments, like the hairy legs and the intentional stick crack fumbling. And the rock thud sound was SO thuddy haha! I'm glad I got to watch this is the theater cuz the rock hitting in surround sound was felt as much as seen.
And then there was that nice sort of lull/pause in all that tension before the sudden ending. A fun watch, thank you :)

Hacktor

I appreciated going straight from hacker genre title card to sheep haha, because my brain wasn't expecting something so natural (was slow on the Hactor uptake obviously, but brilliant name). Your film was funny. The drawing you chose was excellent. It was so clear, so even though we only saw it for a moment, it was easily readable and that allowed enough time to enjoy the humor of it. Step one tractor, step two boat haha. And lots of great hacker/tractor puns. Hacktor was perfectly the overlapping parts of a venn diagram in name and story.

Pizza Bomb

I'm glad to see you've been getting good reviews from yourself cuz I totally agree! This was an appropriate level of upset and drama to missing pizza, I bought into it.
I loved the different approaches the main character to each of his siblings. Like calm, gentle, and encouraging with the first one, then 10000% ahhhhh at the next one. One of my fav lines was about how the last sibling was vegan except for rituals lol. I enjoyed the acrobatics across the bed, great rolls. And the ending gave us exactly what the title promised. This was so over the top and I lived for every minute of it

Prompt

This is a very topical film over a concern I know I definitely have. Social media bullying has been difficult to combat and now with the added mix of AI, I can’t imagine how stressful it’ll be for kids growing up combating experiences like this. So films like yours are important! It helps bring eyes and conversation to issues like these.

From a story telling point of view, it had good beats, escalating the tension as they rang around, and tidily came together for the twist of a friend’s betrayal. Great job

Mother's Day

Love seeing women led action, and I could have used more of this growing up in the late 80s/early 90s haha, as well as the wonderful lead who knew exactly what she wanted outta life. I think a few additional whack and punch noises added in post might have amplified the fight scenes even more, but they were a lot of fun to watch

Connection Lost

What a lovely, sad, and touching hacker film. It actually brought me to tears, you are too good at crying lol! All the memories being tinged with knowing this is the last time, those looks of quiet devastation while reliving them, they destroyed me haha! You did a masterful job of pulling us into the grief he was going through, and cutting to the white screen behind as they clung to each other was a good choice. It made us focus entirely on them as they said goodbye. You conveyed so much in such a limited time. Thanks for the beautiful film

Chrono-Narcos

I was looking forward to this film after seeing your poster and it absolutely delivered. Everyone nailed their roles, and I especially enjoyed obnoxious content maker, he was very funny. I love the whole concept of Chrono narcos, and it was satisfying watching someone experience how yesteryear was rough haha. The costumes and set were awesome. The little moments as the week went by, like them learning to pose for the camera, were fun touches. And you nailed the genre. Influencer footage was a great idea

Whoopies Daisy

Loveee that the film name popped up immediately after hitting someone haha! Oopsieee. And I should have seen the end coming, but I did not x) I'm not sure I'm supposed to find this much death as funny as I did, but I enjoyed it lol, great job

Room For Interpretation

Fun opening shots! Outside cutting to toilet haha. Your sound really stood out to me where it all felt intentional and not distracting, with the squeaky stairs, rubbish, doors etc. I thought the neighbour who warned the main character about the "psycho" other neighbour was a fun amount of intense, and I appreciate her emphasis on the word "psycho."
I love the comedy of misunderstandings, although I think as the audience that I wanted to be left out of the loop with him, rather than know she was an actress. But the back and forth at the end of relief that she's an actress, then wait what? at the phone call was fun! When we got to the end, a part of my brain was still quite concerned about the glass smashed outside her door and someone standing on it lollll. All in all, a fun, funny, well acted film :)

Spoiler Alert

We got to watch this for the first time on the grand finals stream last night, and I know you said it maybe wasn't a comedy, but we laughed the whole way through, it was so funny.

There's that saying that 'love will move mountains' but I've always thought actually it should be petty revenge haha. The things humans can achieve while driven by pettiness!

I just found the whole film super relatable. And I love that it ended with him writing #2 partly because it spoiled the end again, but also it drove home the extent of his feelings. It's so frustrating to have something spoiled! It's rude, and he deserves his revenge! And wild author success along the way!

Congrats on your win :) I can't wait for this to become available so I can make everyone I know watch it.

Killer Views

This was a lot of fun :) I enjoyed the back and forth between social media personality and reality personality, performed that switch so well

Multi-Child Celebration Event

I caught this after the heat had already live streamed so had the luxury of looking at my husband in total bewilderment, rewinding it, and watching it immediately again another time. Holy moly one take. This is an insane undertaking haha. Like, kids foodfighting. Did you get it in one take? Did you have to clean up the chaos and the kids and dry everyone off and get a new round of food and do it again??? Or did they all absolutely nail that?!

Insane honestly, I am mind boggled. All those kids did an amazing job of doing what they needed to do when they needed to do it. The two that slipped? That looked like a genuine slip, and if it was and then they stood up and kept going, like wow at being able to pull themselves together and finish the take.

There were so many glorious moments. I think my fav was the girl being dragged up the table haha. And aside from the perfected chaos going on visually, the narration was super funny.

I wrote in my notes, "wtf, I would never tackle something like this," haha! Huge well done to everyone involved in this film but especially to all those kids nailing it

Family Kids

Amazing intro song! I loved the names of the siblings, and their clear character archetypes, shown in interests, fashion choices (especially Rickerty), and how they interacted with others. It was fun watching Tim, the regular person, spiral as things go weirder and weirder, and getting to see the different colours of sitcom vs his view. I very much love that he looked down the barrel and said what he said (I don't wanna put too many spoilers here). This was very fun and well executed, I am also looking forward to another watch

Inspiration

Super wow! I think tackling an idea vs a full length story was a very smart choice to get an animation like this done in a weekend, and you perfectly conveyed the frustration of waiting for inspiration. There were some pretty tough to draw and animate things in your film, I'm so impressed. Like the full 360 chair spin, drawing a hand drawing, and scrunching up paper. It was like you went, what are all the hardest things to draw, let's animate that haha. I loved the colours and the stark lighting on the hand. Oh! The tapping fingers too. Just all super impressive. And you're a school team, right? I hope I get to see oodles more things from you in the future

Sleeping Shadow Warriors

Without the context of your description here, I did find your story a little hard to follow. I got the jist of maybe an abusive relationship etc. But my not following could entirely be me, and when I get the chance, I'd love to have another watch. Aside from that, I very much enjoyed your stop motion and the contrast of black and white with occasional other colour touches. Cutting all those out and taking all those photos must have been very time consuming, and it looked great!

Daisy Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Your film was a very fun mix of comedy and horror! I love the ghost buster costumes and the lightning fx. The girl gliding across the screen and the jump scare brought those horror elements, and I laughed out loud when they checked with her that she was the ghost they were looking for. Great job all around :)

Finger Ring: The Proposal

You two have excellent physical comedy! So funny to watch!

You nailed Comedy of Errors, not just with the story, but with every moment of chaos, supported by the shots, the timing, and the editing.

I really thought it was leading up to her choking but it didn't! It was delightful! Such a sweet film that left me feeling happy for those lovely made up people haha!

The Mis-Take

I think one take is a tough genre and you did it brilliantly. All the chaos going on around him, and the way the shots were shot felt seamless. I need to go back and rewatch because I don't know if it really was one take and you all nailed what you were supposed to do, or if it was very smart filming, timing, and editing. Either way, amazing job

The Trestleville Murders

I loved seeing the photos in the bg of all the murders, and trying to spot in each scene where it was lol. All your prop and makeup stuff was super fun - the gooey blood, the foamy mouth (super curious how to do that), the axe dripping etc. The person telling the story did an excellent job and was engaging to watch and listen to. And the ending got me exactly the way it was supposed to lolll. My heart is beating fast just remembering

ZIGGY AND SCOUT BLAST TO THE PAST

You've made such an interesting film. I loved your story, the set, and the special fx. All of the actors did an outstanding job, including the robot-y ones. I found some of the dialogue to be exposition heavy, with the characters explaining to each other things that they probably both already knew to catch the audience up. But the foundation of your film was excellent, and I think you could have trusted the audience to connect the dots. We learn a lot visually and both actresses were very expressive and all the emotions landed because of their gestures, posture, and facial expressions etc. You made something really special, though, and I can't wait to see what you do next

The Little German Boy and the Cave

Those cardboard sculptures are sooo neat. A lot of work must have gone into making them and this entire film. I enjoyed all the details, like the feet on baba yaga's house

Headspace

Thank you!! Yay

RaveYard

I've been sitting here for a minute trying to figure out how to start this review haha. Everytime I go to type, I just see the slurping of intestines and hear the crunchy teeth and get a whole body cringe lollllll. Which is wonderful, evidence you did a brilliant job.
I loved the escalation, and the living out of all their proposed scenarios. I expected a twist, but thought it'd just be her sitting up, so the actual twist did twist! And was funny. I appreciate we got to see the security camera footage of everything that went on. So many layers for 5 mins - what they think is happening now, what they imagine would happened in various scenarios, and what is really happening. All of it communicated clearly and hilariously

Insanitarium

Great script, acting, tension building, editing, lighting etc. Loved the black milk and red eyes special fx, and the being dragged down the hallway. Your film was well made in every way

Thrill Seekers

Enjoyed the contrast between your on and off camera personalities as content creators. Spot on "like and subscribeeee" youtuber tone. Excellent sound effects, I felt the neck break haha. Fun end! You guys did a great job

Asset Improvement

I love stories about background characters in games, and seeing them chat normally while performing in all their various scenes. Like while hanging upside down burning haha! I also enjoyed some of the funny lines, "your 17 abs," etc. I loved seeing all the levels of detail between how rendered characters were depending on what game they were from, and also that karma at the end was to be turned into a low-poly character haha. Great job

Between Us

Going to do my best to be vague enough that I don't spoil this for anyone who hasn't gotten to see it yet.

I very much enjoyed your film and the concept of the magnet and fridges! Loved the connection between the couple, the little moments of chatting and sharing life, even apart. The ending definitely got me, haha.

The one thing I might have considered changing would be flipping one of the fridges at the beginning to open to the opposite side of the screen than the other one, just to reinforce the idea of two fridges and being apart from each other.

Otherwise though, so, so good. I was like "oh, genius!" with her solution to the ordeal toward the end, which made what happened hit that much harder. The little detail of her top hanging out meant we doubly knew. Great storytelling!

Awesome job :)

The Hat Trick

This was brilliantly fun to watch, which I've come to realize is just what we can expect from your team haha. I got to see it at the village theater and enjoyed the slightly confused claps everytime credits came up, but the big laughing cheering claps at the end. It was full of wonderful twists and turns. The narrator being its own character and how the other characters engaged with it was very clever

Don't Be A Dick

Ahhh. I felt it. I felt the pen haha. Why did he pull it out through the top lolllll. This was like a more extreme version of death note. I laughed at so many terrible things, the penis person, the ripped in half girl (the sounds told that story so well). More karma should be dished out in penis morphs. I think as far as comedy horror goes, this film had me in the extremes of comedy and horror more than any other I've seen so far haha

She's a Dogeater

I thought at first that it was a miscommunication and that they just had similar looking dogs but it was not D:
Which was pretty funny haha. Also the dog at the end was an excellent actor, appearing like quite the worried shapeshifter. This film was lots of fun!

The Pink Portrait Escape

We've talked a little bit in real life but I just wanted to pop in here and add some of my fav parts. You had so many cool shots in this film. I loved the shot where we could see you browsing the store but in the mirror behind you, Jannine looking all suspicious as she wrapped the painting haha. There was a funny moment too as the painting was turning up places that you opened the dishwasher and I expected it to be in there even though logically I knew it couldn't fit haha. The montage came at a good time in the story and was enjoyable to watch. I especially loved the filming from your car of the road as your traveled. It was a good way to amplify the efforts the character was going to to get rid of the picture, but also just cool footage haha. Janice also did an excellent job of acting in the film! I had no idea initially that outside of this film she was the portrait artist and not someone in your film community that was experienced at acting. And my absolute favorite shot was the close up of your lips as you laughed and put on lipsticks after ditching the painting with her. I hope that one gets you a nomination for best use of a macro shot. Plus all the songs were so funny. I enjoyed people singing along in the theater afterwards and all the laughs this film deservedly got from the audience there.

The Kneel Deal

I love this concept, and a super smart story choice for animating in only 48 hours. It was a joy to watch, great job

Feedback Loop

Found footage in a found footageeee! Amazing. Funny tho pulling out an SD card and then putting analog static in before the footage plays haha.

Lolll and then more found, well not quite footage, but audio.

Layers of found footage aside, oh my gosh this had me tense haha. The special fx and black shapes were creeeeepy. The acting was so good. The guy playing Judah striding panicked down the road, forlorn swinging, vomiting, begging at the painting etc. Yeah just got job all around, I am stressssed haha

The Host

Loved your set, characters, and story. Those terms, "dead adjacent" etc were funny and spot on cuz you can't say a lot of those words on social media without getting your content pulled. People are not killed, they are unalived haha. This was very Tucker and Dale-esque and I'm totally here for it. All the ways they died were funny and quite cool looking in terms of that horrific blood covered spike and the realistic looking guts, the electricity special fx. I enjoyed the twist and the happy? ending

Morgan's Organs

I think I saw an instagram story of you animating with baby. I'm so impressed by Morgan's Organs, even without a baby factoring. And I'm a mum too, so I'm fully aware of how time consuming babys are haha.

I love the songs, the puns, the animation (awesome lip syncing), and the overall story/conclusion. It was funny. You killed it. It brought me more than a little joy :)

Jellybean

I relate to this level of rage over being unconvinced haha, though thankfully, mine is only momentary (last part added just to reassure anyone I won't revenge date their mum lolz). I enjoyed the story coming full circle :)

Mission Impuppetable

Bonus points from the get go cuz puppets (who were all excellent actors)!

Your film felt comfortablely nostalgic. I loved the puppets, the funny security guard moments (great drawing), not being able to plug the usb in first go. It was quite a topical story too. And more films should end with everyone dancing haha, great job.

THE GRATE HIEST

This was so fun! Such funny shenanigans the whole way through, like hiding in the painting. I loved all the props, especially the tinfoil box with the wool wires. Also, amazing action! What spectacular acrobatics through those lasers. You made great music and sound choices the whole way through, they were utilized well to tell the story. Everyone was a genuine joy to watch, I felt like I was having fun with you

Nudity

Amazing job! The cut out paper animation was so good. I was trying to figure out if it was stop motion, like photos of your drawings and switching out the mouths by hand, or if you had loaded them into a program to rig and give drop shadows and switch layers for the mouths etc. Either way, a lot of work, and it turned out great.
I have a little concern about how life drawing is portrayed to the wider public, because it’s so important that anyone going into that environment is respectful and not sexualising people. But I do understand it’s a joke, and I love how long of a joke it was just to get to penis haha (also a great drawing). Absolutely worth all the effort.
All the songs were solid too. I’m glad you got musical cuz you musicaled so musically. You must be a team of very creative, funny, practised artists, and yay for us as your viewers because it means we get to relish this absolute gem of an animated film

Tempo

If I hadn't read "80s action" in your title card, I would have known it immediately from the opening shot, with the smoke, mustache, and music. I spent so much of this film just in awe of all the 80s-ness! Like the set, with the glass milk bottle, rotary phone, cup, plants, colour palette etc, but also the aspect ratio of your film. So many great small touches. It made me feel like I was watching MacGyver or Get Smart, definitely that 80s tv show feel aesthetically. But then the film itself was so interesting. I think part of me expects 80s action to be a quick, full of dramatic over the top action, and I really enjoyed how this wasn't. It was still action, just paced different than what my brain expected. The montage came at a good time after establishing what was happening, and having some neck choking in there for variety was fun. The person getting shot took the bullets really well. I could feel them, especially the head shot with the neck whipping back so quickly. All in all, masterful job. I enjoyed your film and plan to go back to see what 80s set pieces I missed first time round haha

Revenge On The Number 1 Rule

So I've only seen one year of 48 hours before this one but I remember your 2025 film well cuz of the cool animation, so therefore the scene around the table. And I'm guna take a leap and assume you've entered many more times than just last year haha.

And I love what you did this year lolll. I dunno how much was your own old footage vs new footage but the concept of revenge against the number one rule is so funny and it was certainly a ton of amazing editing. You are a brilliant team and I love how you push everything you do. Crossing fingers you get that 2026 grand champion win

Give Yourself Permission

I definitely agree that we need to embrace being whimsical all through life haha. I enjoyed the dramatic gun fight and the phone call made me laugh. Loved the drawing. Mixed kinds of chips is not okay lollllll. I finished the film wanting to set up a hut in the lounge and play on water slides (kudos on doing that in winter). This was a lovely feel good film with a great message :) And also I think capitalism is the answer re when did the rumor start that we have to grow up to be serious haha. But hey we're at end stage now so yes, let's freaking slideeee

Magnum Opus

I like your rhyming description, it leans into the musical haha. I love how musical this was! Like stage play type musical with dancing, and facial expressions you can see from seats at the back. I loved the shots of them close up to the camera as they were looking at the picture, and her intense longing. But oh my gosh the painting and that it was exactly what it looked like (great job with the peas and corn). I hope that the shot of her teeth gets you a best macro shot nomination haha, I gagged. Credit song was excellent too. I was horrified by this whole thing, awesome job haha

The Kids Room!

This was stand out, you are all such fabulous actors. The deadpanned humour and building existential crisis in everyone was so funny. Every single person played their character spot on, and I enjoyed the panning camera or odd shots to see the behind the scenes. The main show host I think genuinely could front a kid’s show, and ‘Dave’ portrayed bare minimum going through the motions energy perfectly.

My one note is just the cartoons. They looked like images you pulled from across the internet, which meant some of them were AI generated (like if you look at the cheese on the burger). And while AI images themselves can’t be copyrighted, all the art that was fed into them is, so it’s still plagiarism.

The bit itself was great, though, teaching kids about where their meat comes from haha. The song too, awesome job. Possibly this could have another place to build on the tone of the rest of the show. You could have drawn the images yourselves, even as stick figures, and then hissed off camera at the art person for putting minimum energy in or not hiring an actual artist etc.

But I only mention because of how excellent every other aspect of your film is. I know you’re a school team, but aside from your ages, you wouldn’t be able to tell, it was that good. I hope I get to see loads more from you all in the future

Fools Gold

Hihi, I just saw your heat and wanted to say great job!

I loved the cut from the hand drawn map to the home map, the music slowing down as more spoons came up, the birds eye view of the X, and that finding the spoons came in handy! So many excellent moments.

I think your film has my fav line of the night - "My mum dropped me off and she ain't coming back," delivered so casually.

I did mildly gag watching them eat mayo. But that seems appropriate xD

Fun watch!

The Spire Of Dread

I'm sorry about your disqualification! This was so cool stylistically. Some of the bgs were kinda runescape/MMO-y which was neat. I often wish I could be sucked into a game like those to adventure haha. The cardboard armor was so cool! I kinda love that you left it cardboard colored too cuz it added to the charm. Super solidly made and fitted, (do you have a pattern you'd be willing to share haha? I want some xD). I like the one you approached one take, with the panning to the tower, then zooming out of his eye to keep it one consistent shot. I missed the sound once it stopped but I'm assuming that was a time thing.

I can see how much went into making this film, it was definitely ambitious. But I love what you did manage to accomplish in 48 hours and and enjoyed it all. Thanks for sharing it with us. If you enter again, I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for your heat, cuz I love all the things you did and tried in this one and can't wait to see more

Steve's Revenge

Loved your film! Some cool shots in there, like drawing at the camera to show Steve's focus. And I'd like to let this pretend character know that other people make great webcomic content so he should just go for it haha.
It was a fun story! I loved seeing all the drawings play out. His dramatic sobbing was excellent, same with his boss. I bet running around as dinosaurs was a good time too. A very enjoyable watch, great job

Modern Daddiez

The longing in the eyes of the actor begging to adopt was so very passionately longing. And the actor playing across from him had an amazing outfit, great tights. I love those videos that float around the internet of people's Dads becoming very doting pet parents after fighting so hard not to get one, and this captured that perfectly. Thank you, too, for how long we got cat cuddles at the end. It wasn't just cats, credits. It was decent snugs, one even being held like a baby!

The Candy Man

So funny. I can't wait to have the opportunity to rewatch because there were so many little moments I caught out of the corner of my eye (like the earlier text convo about itchiness haha) that made me laugh that I'm wondering if I missed anything. I loved your dialogue - "I heard it in the script." "No!" And the lollies dribbling out of his mouth after the candyman got him etc. Your actors all had this kind of relaxed f-ing about quality that was funny and nostalgic to watch, like hanging out with your mates on the weekend. I wrote in my notes "ultimate kiwi boy humour, I want to see more."

The Deadly Extinction

It was so interesting and cool to see a film predominantly sign language. It drew me in, made me pay attention more. Your song choices guided our emotions well. The poem was lovely moment. And the first sound they heard at the end was funny and a good way to come back to their convo earlier. Great job :)

The Mob

I loved how that intro line just grabbed us as the viewer! Very clear narration to drew us right in. The music thag you chose was a wonderful tension builder, and I appreciated that you used the resources around you - the sheep!

Theo & Lola

Very cute film. The sound between internal and exterior car as door opened was so good! The kids were very cute, walk cycles looked good. Loved the painted scenery. The whole film did a great job of capturing one of those funny little magical moments kids have together that often we forget to notice, but are always lovely