The digital revolution is upon us and no longer does one need to sell a kidney to have a film screened at the cinema.
The monkeys at Primate Memory Factory challenged digital video artists to make a five-minute short movie and the theme is "connect the dots." Pee-Wee Herman comes to mind as a possible contestant.
The piece must contain a lock and key, the phrase "My Elbow tastes like rum," refrigerator magnets and a character reading aloud. Meet these requirements and submit your movie by May 21 and your movie will be screened at Madstone on May 31.
The Primate Memory Factory operates under the belief that deadlines make people do things a lot more efficiently. The five-person collective wants to increase the quality of the movie making community in Albuquerque. Members have devised a monthly competition that will get filmmakers to make films and that will get those films shown.
Casting director/Web designer Chris Payne says the competition is "film weight training - doing reps until you get a masterpiece."
A near capacity crowd showed up for April's film noir screening last Saturday. The Primate Memory Factory is a grassroots organization first and foremost, so it was fitting that two high school students were featured in the finals.
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The all-inclusive, monthly competition is judged by the audience. No panel of elite journalists and industry professionals taint this system. The competition is strictly cinema for the masses.
Competitors get feedback from the audience and learn from the process. The Primate Memory Factory is also a networking organization, allowing like-minded artists a chance to get out of the editing bay and meet their future crew members.
So, what's with the name?
"We're basically upscale primates whose primary function is to create memories for other people" Payne said.
This month's screening will be at noon on May 31 at Madstone Cinema, 6311 San Mateo Blvd NE. For more information, visit www.pmf5.com.
