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Just south of San Marcos, in the rural prairie adjacent to the historic Camino Real pathway, sits a theatre frozen in time: Stars & Stripes Drive In, boasting the largest screens in the entire Lone Star State.
Next Sunday at sundown, the unsung film venue will host the San Marcos Cinema Club’s 4th annual 72- Hour Film Race, a regional filmmaking contest in which participants have 3 days to craft a short cinematic creation based on six specific prompts they will be given Thursday evening.
Film submissions cannot exceed 6 minutes and 66 seconds in length, in tribute to San Marcos’ zip code, and must creatively incorporate the six prompts (an object, line of dialogue, character, scene, location and theme) for maximum points by judges.
A bonus riddle, rooted in local history, yields extra points if an image of the ancient landmark appears in the film.
It’s free to participate, and all skill levels are welcomed.
Contestants are asked to send their name, and any team members, along with a phone number to [email protected].
The race begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, when competitors can scoop up an envelope containing the six surprise prompts from the new downtown Korean eatery, K Bop.
“We hate that this promising local restaurant opened just as the pandemic struck, so we’re inviting film race contestants to consider calling in a dinner order at KBop-STX.com, before picking up their surprise prompts, as a way to show support, although no purchases are required to participate,” said Dionicio Aguilar, a Cinema Club organizer.
For those unable to grab the surprise prompts in person, they will be posted on the 72-Hour Film Race Facebook event at 7 p.m. that evening.
Filmmaking teams must deliver their final product on a thumb drive, encapsulating the prompts and bonus riddle as best they can, to the Screen 1 projection booth by 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, for pre-screening to ensure it is “PG-13-ish” to abide by the drive-in’s family-friendly vibe.
The community viewing of film race submissions is free to the public, for movies and memories under the stars, while honoring social-distancing recommendations.
The film judiciary consists of Diana Garcia, the 2020 Excellence in Education laureate who teaches at De Zavala Elementary School, and Dr. Gloria Martinez, a Texas State University professor who chairs the U.S. Census Complete Count Committee for San Marcos.
The U.S. Census factors in importantly to the evening’s events, as a viewing of entries to a local video PSA contest, co-hosted by Mano Amiga, will also be shown prior to film race submissions.
The video PSAs must be no longer than 3 minutes and emphasize the importance of filling out the Census.
Currently, just over a third of San Marcos residents have taken the 10 minutes required to complete the form, which ensures federal funding for schools, roads, healthcare and more.
The county loses over $116,000 per person who does not fill out their Census; the 2010 undercount in Hays County resulted in the needless loss of tens of millions of dollars of available funding for vital community projects.
Census video PSAs submitted by Wednesday night, as a MP4 to SanMarcosCinemaClub@gmail. com, will be shown Sunday evening, and those received by May 22 will be eligible for $100 prizes in the categories of Most Funny, Most Drama/Action and Best Student Film.
The favorite video PSA submitted by Wednesday will also win a $100 prize and the privilege of running prior to all Stars & Stripes’ films for one month.
You can complete the Census online at 2020Census.gov or toll-free at (844) 330 2020.
