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18 films, each 6 minutes or less and all created by local indie filmmakers. That was a portion of the stipulations for the third annual Eighth Day of Creation Film Fest (EDOC3). The film teams were given the theme of this year's festival on June 7, 2005, and then had merely eight days to write, shoot, edit and submit their work.

The night of the screening, it was clear this was much more than a chance to pick up a nice wad of sweaty cash, $3,000 bucks for first place. There was the excitement of creative minds and spirits coming together to share their talents and art with industry peers. Missing was the arrogance and vanity that most would expect from this sort of event and in its place, a realness and love for creativeness and encouragement.

This year's theme, Know Thyself, meant nearly every entry provided introspective views of who we truly are as people. The films ranged from explosively dark to outrageously humorous and each showed successfully that we are all flawed at best and at every level searching for acceptance and understanding.

As the theater lights came up, three films found themselves with top honors and well-deserved recognition. Third place honors were presented to Robots are Blue, written, directed and starring Bill Sebastian. His Second Class Productions team transported viewers to the year 2029 for a unique look at what could easily happen to society if creative thinking is dissolved.

Team Cyclone, led by director Brent McCorkle, did more in six minutes than many films achieve in ninety. Their efforts earned a second place nod for Crashland in which John Harris (Mark Lee) comes to an inner discovery that surprised the entire audience. Cyclone proved that writing is an essential element in any film regardless of length, time or budget. Team member Jaime Lail also picked up a best actress award for her role as Detective Summers. 

Humor won out at this year's festival as Mandingo Films created a clever spin of a classic art form. Understanding Who You Are used the black and white industrial film style of the '50's to make a solid point on accepting your differences regardless how strange or life-altering. David Maddox and his team did not allow the small time frame to hinder them from pulling out all stops and submitting one of the best film shorts I have seen in a long time.

IBC members also got involved as Suggestion Box Productions and 

EDOC is part of the lifework of Common Grace Ministries, led by the duo of Martin Hironaga and Mike Maden, based in Dallas, Texas. For more information on them or their ministry visit www.commongrace.net. Winning films can also be viewed on this site. As an outsider, I had the great opportunity to witness this with fresh eyes and I must say that they proved once again that nothing is more rewarding than creating out of talents bestowed from the greatest creator of all.

The Mungle 7/11/2005

Matt Mungle hosts the weekly syndicated Indie Rock Radio Show Spin 180. For additional reviews and interview clips visit our website at <http://www.spin180.net/>