It's been a tradition in Vancouver's film scene for 16 years - and a Burnaby producer was part of the mayhem for this year's Crazy 8s competition.
The Crazy 8s filmmaking challenge is designed to help emerging filmmakers produce a short film. This year's challenge started with a field of 196 applicants, which was whittled down to 40 short-listed projects, 12 semifinalists and then, in the end, six finalists.
Those six teams were then given $1,000, a production support package and eight days to produce their films, starting on Friday, Feb. 13.
Among those teams was Burnaby's Keli Moore, one of the producers on Outside the Lines.
The Heights resident returned to the Crazy 8s film world for a second time after producing last year's science fiction comedy Earthlickers.
This year's entry, Outside the Lines, is co-produced by Dave Rice and directed by Scott Belyea. It tells the story of D.J., who is left jobless and broke after the call centre he works at is outsourced overseas - and finds himself lured by the rewards of the lucrative world of telephone fraud.
A film synopsis describes it as a "gritty, uncompromising look at the initiation of a novice into the dark side."
Moore is no stranger to the world of filmmaking, having worked her way up through the trenches starting as a production assistant, becoming a Directors' Guild of Canada member and working as a director's assistant on both low-budget and multimillion-dollar feature films - including Juno, X-Men 2, Catwoman and Superman: Man of Steel.
She also writes, produces and directs projects under the brand name Mr. and Mrs. Myth, with co-creator Tony Mirza. That label gave birth to the funny and successful Advice 4 Men campaign for Diane's Lingerie, which is still gathering international publicity and YouTube viewership.
Film lovers can see Moore's film and the other five winners at a gala screening set for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at The Centre, 777 Homer St. in Vancouver. There's also an after-party at Science World.
Check out www.crazy8s.cc for all the details.
