"The Girl is Mime" by London Team “Far From Home” starring Martin Freeman wins the International Best Film Prize

MIAMI, FL, March 12, 2011 - Over 3,500 teams from 80 cities around the world created films in 48 hours for the world’s largest timed film competition. The winning film, “The Girl is Mime,” produced by Tim Bunn and his Far From Home team, stars Martin Freeman, known for roles in the original British TV comedy “The Office” and feature films “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “Love Actually,” “Shaun of the Dead” and the upcoming “The Hobbit: Parts 1 & 2,” scheduled to begin production soon in New Zealand.

The award for First Runner Up went to “46 Miles” from Denver team Cinema Geeks and the Second Runner Up award went to “Casting Call” by Evolve Productions from Los Angeles.

The winners were announced on March 11 during a special screening and awards ceremony held at the 48 Hour Film Project’s Filmapalooza event, hosted for the second time since 2009 by the Miami International Film Festival in Miami, Florida, which ran March 4-13. Winning filmmakers traveled to Miami for Filmapalooza from dozens of countries, including Mongolia, Albania, Vietnam and South Africa, among many others.

In cities around the world film teams created their films in just 48 hours. On a Friday night they were assigned a character, prop and line of dialogue to include in the film. They then drew a genre from a hat. The completed films had to be turned in by 7:30 on the dot on Sunday night. Late films were disqualified. The films screened later that week to packed crowds at local theaters.

According to Tim Bunn, producer of the winning film, “the most stressful part was drawing silent film as our genre.” The team turned this challenge into a creative coup that won the entire competition, but not without some heartache.
According to Bunn “We completely re-wrote the script just two hours before we started shooting.”

The winners will receive $3,000.00 USD cash, GenArts Sapphire Special Effect Software, and their film will screen at the Cannes Film Festival in the Short Film Corner.

The judges for the 2011 48 Hour Film Project were:
MAGGIE LAWSON who stars as Juliet in the USA Network series “Psych”
TIM KINZY Editor for the television series “Eureka,” “Caprica,” “Warehouse 13” and “Battlestar Galactica”
SEBASTIAN TWARDOSZ of Circus Road Films and former head of development for Paramount-based production company Craftsman Films


For more information about the 48 Hour Film Project please visit: www.48hourfilm.com.

About the 48 Hour Film Project
The 48 Hour Film Project is the oldest and largest timed film competition in the world. This year it celebrates its 10-year anniversary. The 48 Hour Film Project’s mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. The tight 48-hour deadline puts the focus squarely on the filmmakers, emphasizing creativity and teamwork and “doing” instead of “talking.” The emphasis is also on building communities of local creative people - facilitating making new connections, showcasing skills, and celebrating what creativity and teamwork can accomplish in just one weekend. In 2010, more than 40,000 filmmakers in 80 cities participated in the project.

About Miami International Film Festival
The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), celebrating its 28th edition March 4-13, 2011, is the premier Ibero-American film festival in the U.S. The annual event, which is produced and presented by Miami Dade College, attracts more than 70,000 film enthusiasts and 400 filmmakers, stars and industry professionals. During the past five years, the festival has screened films from 60 countries and hosted 300 East Coast, U.S. and world premieres. Through Encuentros, the festival’s mentorship and film development program for filmmakers and projects from Spain, Portugal and Latin America, MIFF has become a primary gateway for the discovery of Ibero-American talent in the entertainment world. In addition, the festival’s REEL Education Seminar Series consistently attracts top executives from Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Classics, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, DreamWorks Animation, HBO Films/HBO Latino and William Morris Endeavor, among many others. For more information, visit www.miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-MIFF (3456).

Additional Miami International Film Festival Media Contacts:
Dana Ballestero, Press & Publicity Manager, 305-237-3768, 305-244-9112, dana@miamifilmfestival.com;
Danny Diaz, Publicist, 305-389-8986, danny@miamifilmfestival.com.