Nobody said making a film in 48 hours was easy.

So what about making a film in 48 hours while traveling halfway around the world?

My friends and colleagues Jon and Teviya Abrahams were vacationing in China when this year’s Hampton Roads 48-Hour Film Project kicked off back in Virginia. The timing couldn’t have been worse: once the contest officially started, they would have less than two hours before their flight back to the States departed. With this two hour delay, plus the over 14 hours in the air… It seemed highly unlikely they would be able to participate this year.

Three-year veterans of the contest, Jon and Teviya hatched a plan. They called the team representative at the kick-off event and got the required elements and genre. Before their flight they shot a quick scene at a Taiwanese marketplace. Then they hightailed it to the airport to catch their flight, all while shooting as much video as possible.

They finished the shooting and post-production back here in Hampton Roads. Here’s their film, Passion Fruit:

For their efforts they won the Best Film Award, along with prizes for Best Editing, Best Graphics and Best Cinematography.

Normally, Jon works as the Director of Photography at O’Brien et al. Advertising, while Teviya works in the Cultural Arts and Marketing departments at the JCC.

About the 48-Hour Film Project:

The challenge of the 48-Hour Film Project is simple: Filmmakers write, shoot, edit and export a film in 48 hours. In addition, each team has to incorporate a few required elements along and pick a random genre out of a hat at the beginning of the 48 hour period.

This year’s required elements:

Character – Tim or Tina Thackery, mechanic

Prop – Cheese

Line – “I’ve looked and I can’t find it.”

Genre of Hampton Roads’ Winning Film: Horror