"Dessert" Named Best Film of Indy 48 Hour Film Project

The winners of this year's Indianapolis 48 Hour Film Project were announced following a Saturday-night screening at the IMA's Toby Theater of all 32 short films.

The 48 Hour Film Project is a contest in which teams of filmmakers have one weekend to write, shoot and edit a short film. The teams are assigned a random genre for their film and are tasked with incorporating a given character, prop and line of dialogue into the finished product.

The films were screened for a capacity crowd and a panel of four judges that included Amy Pauszek of Ever Film Productions, Scott Tucker of Talent Fusion, Sam Watermeier of NUVO Newsweekly and The Film Yap's Ben Johnson. The contest was produced and sponsored locally by Jim Walker, Anne Laker and Holly Sommers of Big Car Collaborative.

This year's winner for Best Film went to "Dessert" by Swipe Left Productions. A wickedly delightful dark comedy, "Dessert" also took home individual awards for Best Writing, Best Use of Line and Audience Choice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYQcC5ilK4Y&w=585&h=329

By winning Best Film, Swipe Left Productions will now take "Dessert" to Hollywood in February to compete with other 48 Hour Film Project winners for a chance to move on to the Cannes Film Festival!

The runner up selection for Best Film was The Collective Brain's "Wonderful Friends," a reality television spoof with a superheroic twist. "Wonderful Friends." took home individual awards for Best Editing, Best Graphics and Best Costume.

https://vimeo.com/135796649

Also notable among the contestants was Team Dharma's "Bobby," a suspenseful horror short that stylishly combines some of the more modern tropes of the genre. "Bobby" took home individual awards for Best Directing, Best Acting and Best Special Effects. "Bobby" was truly a standout effort but fell short in the competition for Best Film because the genre Team Dharma was assigned was "Detective/Cop" and although the short had a pair of cop characters, it was too much of a stretch for what was obviously an excellent horror film.

Here are the complete results for the 2015 Indianapolis 48 Hour Film Project:

Best Film: "Dessert," by Swipe Left Productions Runner Up: "Wonderful Neighbors," by The Collective Brain

Audience Choice Group A: "True A.I.," by MUTT Audience Choice Group B: "Dessert," by Swipe Left Productions

Best Directing: "Bobby," by Team Dharma Best Writing: "Dessert," by Swipe Left Productions Best Acting: "Bobby," by Team Dharma Best Editing: "Wonderful Neighbors," by The Collective Brain Best Cinematography: "Companion, Inc.," by ParaCinema Best Sound Design: "True A.I.," by MUTT Best Use of Character: "Moroccan Coffee," by Jackson DOA Productions Best Use of Prop: "Moroccan Coffee," by Jackson DOA Productions Best Use of Line: "Dessert," by Swipe Left Productions Best Graphics: "Wonderful Neighbors," by The Collective Brain Best Special Effects: "Bobby," by Team Dharma Best Musical Score: "Ethereal," by I’m the Villain Films Best Choreography: "Second Chance," by JumpCuts Best Costumes: "Wonderful Neighbors," by The Collective Brain