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Short film, big honor
Central grads had 48 hours to craft flick
movie3
From left, Chris Read and Mike Santoro, both of Forsyth County, show off awards they won July 1 at the film festival. Right, Zach Johnson was director of photography. - photo by Submitted
On the Net

For more on the 48-hour Film Project, go online at www.48hourfilm.com.

Two 2007 Forsyth Central graduates took home top honors at a film festival last month, where they had 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a seven-minute movie.

Film director Mike Santoro, 20, said he’s been interested in the movie business for about as long as he can remember.

His team, Pandemonium, won for best film and best director at the 48-hour Film Project on June 19-20 in Asheville, N.C.

The movie, “Nostalgia,” tells the story of a baseball pitcher named Lefty, who gets lost on his way to a big game.

He goes into a diner for directions and discovers a desperate waitress in search of a soul mate. She holds her victims hostage by gluing them to their booths in the restaurant.

Fellow Forsyth County resident Chris Read filmed and edited the movie.

“It was very stressful because we had to get it done in 48 hours,” said the fellow 20-year-old Central grad. “Everybody worked together really well, so we got it done in time. It was a rewarding experience in the end.”

Santoro said prior to filming, event organizers told the team of 17 people what props could be used, gave them the name of the movie character and a line of dialogue to use.

He said the team had to “rush it back at the exact time it started two days later.” The group rented a “retro diner” for the main sequences in the film.

According to the event Web site, the 48-hour Film Project is “a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie — write, shoot, edit and score it — in just 48 hours.”

E-mail Frank Reddy at frankreddy@forsythnews.com.