Jackson Free Press

Story on the 48 Hour Film Project by Jordan Sudduth

Nearly 200 filmmaking cast and crew participated Aug. 15-17 in the resurrected Mississippi competition of the 48 Hour Film Project—an international organization that promotes independent filmmaking through awareness and competitions. With a required character, prop, line of dialogue and genre, each of the 15 teams set out to produce (write, film, edit and musically score) a short film, between four and seven minutes in duration, within a 48-hour timeframe.

While it may sound easy to some, that is simply not the case. The process is grueling, adrenalin inducing and a test of skill for all involved.

With the recently wrapped “The Hollars,” which John Krasinski of “The Office” directed and starred in, and the soon-to-film “Dixieland” and “By Way of Helena,” which stars Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth, the Mississippi film industry continues to be on the move. With the increasing awareness of what our state has to offer, both independent and major filmmakers and their proponents are garnering more attention than ever.

Official judges for the 48 Hour competition included film-industry professionals who either live in or have strong Mississippi ties. The unveiling of the judges will take place at the premiere.

Whether you are a film buff or just someone interested in something new, this is a great event to support not only the these 15 participating teams, but the Mississippi film industry.

The premiere screening of all 15 films is Sept. 4 at the Malco Grandview Theatre (221 Grand View Blvd., Madison, 601-898-7823). The event starts at 7 p.m. and costs $10 per individual. After the screening, the filmmakers will host a Q&A session, and audience members can vote for their top-three favorite films. For more information, visit 48hourfilm.com/mississippi and filmmississippi.org.

Jordan Sudduth organized this year's 48 Hour Film Project.

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Heck of a way to start the season for me. Overall I finished the week 16-3 and correctly picked every game involving a Mississippi team.

I blew the Texas A&M and South Carolina game big time. Who knew Kenny Hill would play his first game as the starter like he has been the starter for the last three years.

I also tripped up on the Rutgers against Washington State game. The Scarlet Knights went across country with a late kickoff and escaped with a win for the Big Ten over the Pac-12 Cougars.

Finally, I missed Louisville beating Miami. I thought the Hurricanes would be better this season but they folded as the game went along.

This week every Mississippi team begins play after Milsaps, Mississippi College and Delta State were off last week. Nationally, the schedule has some tasty games but a lot of the top 25 are playing cupcakes.

Here is the list of the top ten of AP Top 25 are playing this weekend: The Citadel, Florida Atlantic, Michigan State, Tulsa, San Jose State, Oregon, Virginia Tech, Lamar and Northwestern State. Georgia is off this week and Michigan State and Oregon play each other and Ohio State faces Virginia Tech.

Even with all the cupcake games there are still plenty of games to waste your Saturday watching. Here are my week two picks starting with the Mississippi games, as with last week, winners are in bold.

Delta State at Fort Valley State (Saturday/1 pm)

This is the first game for both teams this season. The Statesmen make the trip to Georgia to face the Wildcats. I think Delta State will be good this season and this will be a good first test. I'm going with the Statesmen because a gut feeling.

UAB at Mississippi State (Saturday/1 pm/FSS)

The Blazers rolled over Troy last Saturday and everyone knows the Bulldogs demolished Southern Miss. Mississippi State will be 2-0 after this game but I expect UAB to put up a fight.

Mississippi at Vanderbilt (Saturday/3:30 pm/ESPN)

On paper before the beginning of the season, this looked like a good matchup. That was before Vanderbilt got blasted by Temple at home. If Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace can keep from giving the other team the ball, this game should be a blowout win for Mississippi.

Mary Hardin-Baylor at Milsaps (Saturday/6 pm)

The Majors kickoff their season against one of the better teams in Division III. If Milsaps wins this game I think they will run the table. I really think the Majors are going to run the table.

Alcorn State at Southern Miss

The Braves wasted no time dispatching Lynchburg last week. The Golden Eagles played tough against MSU for a quarter.

This game is must win for USM or they are going 0-12 this season. The Braves won't roll over for anyone and will put up a fight. Southern Miss is in a dogfight for …