KEY POINTS:
Gandhi with a gun? Somebody call the cops.
The armed offenders squad was called to a fake robbery, the cops came when an actor posing as Gandhi was seen brandishing what looked like a real gun, and several teams came down with a tummy bug.
Yes, it was an "explosive" start to the 48Hours film festival, says organiser Ant Timpson.
The fifth annual competition drew 500 entries and got 8000 people involved, from Northland to Invercargill, as teams raced to make original short films in the space of two days.
Footage was also shot in Israel, Paris, London and New York.
"I think Oliver Driver managed to get just about every actor in Auckland for his film," said Timpson.
"Dominic Bowden also went pretty hard."
Other contestants included the Loop Recordings team Will She Wait, whose film features original music by members of Wellington bands the Black Seeds and Fat Freddy's Drop.
Auckland animation company Mukpuddy made what they reckon is "the greatest animated horror short ever". And last year's festival winners the Downlow Concept are likely contenders for the final again with their entry in the crime genre. This year was also the first time an intellectually disabled team entered the competition. The youngest director was just 12.
In a bizarre twist, the film-makers behind the gun incident are now selling the actor's "Gandhi nappy/diaper" on TradeMe.
Not everyone had a dream run, however - 20 per cent of entrants missed the deadline, a new and uninsured camera was destroyed in a fishtank and one team was involved in a three-car pile-up.
The judging panel, which includes Peter Jackson, Chris Knox, Paul Casserly and TimeOut boss Russell Baillie, are now wading through the entries.
The six top films, plus a wildcard chosen by Jackson, will be screened on C4 on July 1 at 8.30pm. Finalists stand to win prizes of more than $80,000 with the Grand National Winner taking home $36,000 in prizes alone. For more info go to www.48hours.co.nz.
