Podtalk: Producer Jerry Vasilatos on Chicago 48 Hour Film Project 2019 Awards on Sept. 25

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CHICAGO – It comes down to this. After the weeks of preparation, filming and post production judging, the local edition of the international 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) competition culminates with their “Best of Chicago” and Awards Ceremony. The 2019 films – created in 48 hours, then whittled down to the finalists – will be screened before the awards ceremonies beginning at 7:00pm, Wednesday, September 25th, at the historic Music Box theater. Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com was a judge for this year’s competition, and will present an award at the ceremony. For film line-ups and ticket information, click here.

The screening/awards event will also honor Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, located on the near Southwest side in the city, home to all types of filmmaking and TV shows like “Chicago Fire.” Manager of Operations and CIO Dino Mirkopoulos will represent both the studio and Alex Pissios, the President of the studio.

Best of Chicago Screenings and Awards Ceremony at the Music Box Theatre, Chicago
Photo credit: 48HourFilm.com



”Cinespace Studios has been so instrumental in helping support our film festival, and we want to extend our gratitude to them for the countless jobs they have also helped create here while attracting projects to Chicago” said Jerry Vasilatos, in his fifth year as City Producer of the Chicago 48 Hour Film Project. “As they’ve given the same level of attention in helping us promote our emerging indie filmmakers, we felt it was fitting to showcase them along with the films selected by our judges to also be honored as the Best of Chicago.”

The 48 Hour Film Project began in 2001 with the first competition in Washington, D.C., and was founded by the current Executive Producers, Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston. It has grown exponentially from there, with Chicago joining the mix in 2005. The competition includes cities from all over the United States and the world, culminating in “Filmapalooza,” where winners from each city will compete against each other.

For two years in a row, a Chicago film has become a finalist at Filmapalooza, which sends 12 films to the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. The 2017 Chicago 48HFP honoree was “Hammersmith: Hurdle of Dreams” by Kalopsia Films, and the 2018 film was “Knockout” by Alley Cake Films.

In the following Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Producer Jerry Vasilatos of the Chicago 48 Hour Film Project talks about the upcoming screenings, behind the scenes at the 2019 Chicago 48HFP and some success with his own film project called “Solstice.”

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com