Just 24 hours after each team of the 49 Hour Film Challenge turned in their film, 13 teams premiered their movie for their friends, family and the judges to see in a packed full Mass Media and Technology Hall auditorium on Monday night. 

Glasgow senior and 2013 Homecoming queen, Taylor Emberton, introduced each team before the screening of their film. Each team was asked to give a short synopsis and introduce their film in 90 seconds before their film premiered.

While it had been a day since each team had turned in their film, the judges watched the films for the first time alongside the audience.

Each person in the audience was given an Audience Choice ballot where they could vote for their favorite film, the winner announced after intermission. During intermission, guests were invited to eat pizza while the judges made their final calls and the Audience Choice ballad was collected and counted.

While 13 films were shown, one film titled “Magnum Opus” was not listed on the Audience Choice ballot because their original entry had no audio. Cinema Toast Crunch productions was allowed to enter Magnum Opus again with audio for the premiere, but were out of the running for other awards.

Out of the 13 films, two shown were produced by local high schools. Spartan Cinema from South Warren High School produced their film “Dealt a Bad Hand,” about an alien named E.T. who had small, baby sized hands, which received many laughs from the crowd.

Bowling Green High School teamed up with WKU freshmen Jonathan Hill and Drew Norman to make “The Effects of Dimethyltriptacetone and its Potential for Subconscious Exploration” about a boy that takes an experimental drug and its effects on his body. Normal and Hill both agreed that working with high school students was an interesting and rewarding experience.

“In a way, it was kind of a teaching experience because most of the students had little experience with movie producing,” Hill said. “But in the end, I would definitely do it again because it was a lot of fun and cool seeing younger generations interested in the same thing.”

Norman was even impressed at their interest in film making.

“They weren’t in any way less competent,” Norman said. “If anything, they surprised me with all that they knew and were capable of.”

Winning both third place and the Audience Choice award was team Cinephiles with their film “Replay Message” about a girl heart-broken in a post-apocalyptic world, frantically plagued by flash backs of her boyfriend and their life before the apocalypse. The “Replay Message” is a voicemail from her boyfriend that she plays over and over again in the film to remember him.

“Replay Message” director and Corbin junior Cody Duncum was excited and pleased at the audience’s support. Duncum’s team won a total of $200 from both the third place prize and the Audience Choice award, which he said will go back to the Film Production Club of which he is a member.

Memphis Sophomore Joe Carter played the boyfriend in “Replay Message.” As an inspiring actor and a newcomer to the 49 Hour Film Challenge Carter said, “Just placing makes me so happy.”

In second place, winning $200, was I Can’t Grow Facial Hair Productions with their movie “Dream.” In the film, a man from the future powers himself down into a dream state where he does amazing and unimaginable things. When he awakes the audience sees he is disabled and in a wheel chair, where he uses dreams to escape and live the life he couldn’t have.

In first place, winning $300, was X-Rea Productions with their film “Displacement.” Writer Bradley Englert, a Paducah senior, described the plot as “a man, the victim of a scientific experiment, is constantly sent to the past to kill a man and test the elements of time.”

Director and Paducah senior Brad Rea said despite the few things he wished he had done differently, he was happy with the night’s outcome.

“I feel amazing,” Rea said. “That’s the only word I can think of right now. I’m really proud of what we put together.”