Every fall, filmmakers from across the Greater Cleveland area grow tense with excitement (and nervousness) as another weekend of the The 48 Hour Film Project approaches. The competition challenges creators to write, shoot, and edit a film in just 48 hours. At kickoff,the city producer reveals a required character, prop, and line of dialogue which must be in every film.
Yadiel Mercado, a sophomore Film and Media Arts major at Cleveland State University, offered his personal perspective on what competing was like as a team member of Monkey Brain Studios. For him, the weekend was full of tension, excitement and adapting to constant changes.
This year, teams had to incorporate a tour guide character, a book as a prop, and the line “life is too short to be unhappy.” Their genre was “Creature Feature”. Mercado says they were grateful to be able to film at a cast member’s uncle’s compound. He added that their scriptwriters also delivered the script quickly and remained flexible during production.
On-set, the atmosphere was fun and exciting, but also stressful. Mercado noted that “at the end of the day it’s a 48, everyone’s gonna be stressed.”
The cast and crew faced several challenges. They raced the sunset as light conditions changed, and audio became a major hurdle when they realized that a nearby drive-in theatre was screening the film “Sinners” while they were recording room tone. The team worked to avoid explosions and other sounds from the film in the distance from bleeding into their footage.
Submitting the final film also brought its own chaos. When they began uploading the film to the website around 7 p.m. the site crashed. The upload disappeared and reappeared seconds later. The crew emailed their team lead, who contacted the 48HFP organizers with time-stamped proof of the submission and screenshots showing the site malfunction.
The film was ultimately ruled eligible and received a nomination for Best Original Score.
Mercado states that he’s proud of all the cast and crew, and especially how the film sounds. He added that the actors, who had never done screen acting before, were both theatre actors and delivered impressive performances.
Mercado wants to thank Brogan Hamilton, Atlas Vannewkirk, Jordan Layman, Jason Lambert, Hannah Schade, Julian Gregory, Christina Aricchi, Evelyn Rantanen, Hailey Benjamin, Josh Davis and Jade Lopez for their work on the film.
As of Nov. 25, 2025 the film is not available on Youtube as it is currently being re-edited, but Monkey Brain Studios has their film “Overtime,” which won third place in last year’s 48 hour Film Festival, currently uploaded and available to watch.
For many Northeast Ohio filmmakers, The 48 Hour Film Project is notorious for its mix of exhilaration and exhaustion. Mercado said “It’s so great, I’m never doing one again, join our group next fall.”
Feeling inspired and want to accept the challenge? The 48 Hour Film Project also hosts a competition in the summer, so for those who dare, the opportunity comes twice a year. You can register on their website here and keep an eye out for upcoming dates! The website also offers a thorough overview for any first-timers.
