72-Hour Film Race to hold free viewing tonight at drive-in

This evening, scores of cooped-up, cinema-deprived residents will descend San Marcos for an old-school-style outdoor theatre just beyond city limits, traversing the historic Camino Real to reach the unsung film venue for a special tradition –– this year relocated in the inter-est of public health.

The 72-Hour Film Race, the county's most prominent annual filmmaking contest now in it's fourth year, will culminate at sundown on the largest screen in Texas: Stars & Stripes Drive-in Theatre, in rural northeast New Braunfels, for a free community viewing.

A dozen teams, hailing from across the region, signed up for the challenge, organized by San Marcos Cinema Club, who encourages attendees to take Highway 123 to Farm to Market Road 1101 in Zorn, for the 20-minute scenic route.

Competing filmmakers were given six surprise prompts on Thursday evening that their short film must creatively incorporate for maximum points from judges, as well as a local history riddle for bonus points.

Cinema Club announced the prompts on Facebook at 7 p.m., but as an incentive to steer business to K-Bop, the new downtown Korean eatery that opened just prior to the pandemic, film race organizers made them available there at 5 p.m., of which numerous entrants took advantage.

The filmmakers' prompts for the 2020 film race are "Scene: being stuck; location: window; object: mask; theme: rebirth; character: an essential worker; line of dialogue: "You're not going anywhere until you take 10 minutes to help your community by completing that U.S. Census!"

For every person not counted in the census, Hays County loses $11,600 in federal funding that would otherwise support roads, healthcare, schools and similarly vital services.

For extra points, a film can includes a shot of this historical relic, after solving the riddle: A backroad out of San Marcos is named for this landmark — a much smaller version of this device you may find in your kitchen — but this one’s been unused for 110 years. A site reminiscent of Gretel’s mettle that you might find if Mike Nill gets mixed up.

The 72-Hour Film Race is made possible by the generous support of several local sponsors, including Splash Coworking, the San Marcos Arts Commission and the Yellow House Hostel.

The free community screening of 72-Hour Film Race entries commences at sundown. Audio for the films is run via FM radio, so attendees will need not leave their vehicle, or its immediate vicinity, throughout the evening's programming.

Audience members are invited to bring a picnic dinner to enjoy in the prairie-set drive-in as sun falls, where small planes often fly in and out of the adjacent regional airport.

"We aim to provide an enjoyable evening that celebrates the remarkable talents of our regional filmmakers, for a night of homemade movies and memories beneath the stars," said Dionicio Aguilar, a Cinema Club organizer.