Bradford, Vt. — The three members of Team Film Flam agree: One of the biggest challenges they faced during the annual Cohase 48 Hour Film Slam was getting a shot of a single pickle flying through the air.
It was one of many comical scenes that made up Hearts Ajar, which went on to win first place at the eighth annual film slam. The trio — made up of father-and-daughter team Alan and Omega Haehnel and Omega’s best friend, Pearl MacLeod — also earned best direction and best use of genre awards by the judges and were winners of the audience-given people’s choice award.
“It was really fun,” said MacLeod, who was able to participate after her freshman move-in day at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia was delayed by Hurricane Irma. “It was definitely a good experience and something that would be fun to do again.”
At the start of the festival on a Friday night, each of the seven teams drew a film genre from a bag. Team Film Flam’s selection: melodrama.
The teams had to incorporate into their film the line, “You know, if you keep doing that, you’re going to go blind.” They also had to include a bit of product placement (a Wells River Savings Bank piggy bank cube) along with the Fairlee town beach at Lake Morey and — wait for it — a jar of pickles.
The time limit for each movie: seven minutes.
The 48-hour clock was ticking.
“As we were driving home, we started spitballing ideas around,” MacLeod said. They also stopped at the beach, where they came to a decision. “We really want to get someone in the lake.”
They also had another goal: to make things as funny and entertaining as possible, MacLeod said.
When they arrived back at the Haehnels’ White River Junction home, Alan Haehnel, who teaches English and theater at Hanover High School, worked on the script with input from the others. The plot focuses on the competition between two stepsisters, played by Omega Haehnel and MacLeod. The two best friends then worked on pulling together a “shot list.”
Among the challenges, Alan Haehnel said in an email, was trying to make sure the story was clear to the audience and that they weren’t adding or leaving in “distractions” that they enjoyed but could end up being confusing.
“Oh, and trying to get a good shot of a pickle flying through the air.”
Omega Haehnel, who is pursuing acting opportunities, said the visual elements were her favorite part.
“I am a big fan of getting interesting angles,” she said.
The pickle moment, in particular, took a lot of work. “It was a lot of us tossing this pickle back and forth and seeing what works,” MacLeod said. It is one of the shots she is most proud of. “It serendipitously looked amazing.”
The three also had to deal with dueling personalities, with so much work to do in such a compressed period of time.
“Overall, it was great fun,” Alan Haehnel said about working with his daughter. “I did learn that she and I have different approaches to the work. I did a lot of hovering and worrying and nagging while she did a lot of telling me to calm down, that she and Pearl had things under control, especially during the editing process.”
There’s a great moment at the end of the film (which will not be disclosed here), something that could be done only once.
Forty-eight hours after it began, on a Sunday night, the films were viewed and winners were announced. “It was a surprise,” Omega Haehnel said of Team Film Flam’s win, “but it was awesome.”
“I felt just a strong sense of gratitude that I could celebrate this achievement with my daughter — gratitude that our work paid off and pride in knowing that Omega and Pearl’s talents were recognized,” Alan Haehnel said.
Editor’s note: See Hearts Ajar and others from the Film Slam at www.vnews.com. CATV and WRIF are having a three-week Halloween film slam and registration is open until Oct. 2 at http://catv8.org/halloween-o-thon-2017. Geoff Hansen contributed to this report and can be reached at ghansen@vnews.com or 603-727-3247. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.