still image from short film

Yesterday Sci-Fi London concluded its annual 48-hour filmmaking contest. There are a lot of 48 hour competitions, but Sci-Fi London has created a fairly robust community around theirs, with over 174 teams completing an entry this year, each hoping to be the next Gareth Edwards.

Edwards, the 2008 48-hour winner, admits that winning the competition aided him in making his first feature film this past year, the unusual Monsters (available on Netflix Streaming). The film generated a lot buzz in indie circles due to the novelty of the film—it’s a big-budget concept produced on a shoestring, with Edwards playing one-man band by shooting and providing his own special effects. That buzz translated into a hit however because Monsters is, quite simply, a pretty stellar flick.

Sci-Fi London has played up the Edwards’ story in its advertising for the competition, and the director, currently tabbed to direct the newest Hollywood Godzilla remake, will also have a spot on the competition jury. We’ve liked the results that can come from a 48-hour competition, having featured Lucas Krost’s Outliers last year, but with the actual Sci-Fi London festival coming up later this month, we’ll have to wait to see if this year’s crop of films can match Krost or Edwards’ efforts. In the meantime though, here is Edward’s 2008-winning entry, Factory Farmed.

Press to Play short film