Participants of the Andover Flash Films Festival dedicated themselves to a fierce 24-hour filmmaking challenge where exhaustion took a backseat to the thrill of creativity. This annual event, hosted by the Andover Moviemakers’ Club, pushed students to brainstorm ideas, write scripts, shoot scenes, and edit short films all while racing against the clock.
During the Flash Films Festival, students spent the night in the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) and worked from 9pm on Saturday, until 6 or 7am the next morning. Art instructor and club advisor for Andover Moviemakers’ Junko Pinkowski noted how these time constraints, though strenuous, helped generate teamwork among participants as many students relied on collaboration to brainstorm, problem-solve, and refine their ideas.
“The most rewarding part is the creative energy that emerges in such a short time. It’s incredible to see students come up with an idea on the spot and turn it into a full short film overnight.
It’s also a bonding experience—when students start getting tired around 2 AM, they find ways to keep their energy up. This year, they played hide-and-seek in the library to wake themselves up before getting back to work.” said Pinkowski.
Participants were encouraged to spread their artistics wings. Pinkowski also shared how she enjoyed seeing students explore topics that excited them, no matter how unconventional
“There was no set theme, so participants could create whatever they wanted. Some groups made sci-fi parodies, others created visually artistic music-driven films, and we had a couple of comedies. One short film was inspired by video games, and another had a documentary style with some intense themes,” said Pinkowski.
Flash Films was a fun event, aimed at allowing students to experience filmmaking in an enjoyable way. This encouraging spirit was reflected in Suvir Virmani ’25’s experience.
“My favorite part is definitely the sense of community—just having fun with people. It’s not really a stressful event, and the final film itself doesn’t matter as much. It’s more about enjoying the filmmaking process,” said Virmani.
Motivated by each other, students pushed through the night, energized by snacks like pizza and donuts, playing games to stay awake, and finding creative solutions to challenges that arise in real time. Virmani explained how he felt motivated to stay up all night.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night. Some students did, one group even brought an air mattress, and others had sleeping bags. I just had a blanket, but my group decided to stay up all night and film everything. Some groups prefer to plan overnight and then film the next day. But I wouldn’t say I’m too tired,” said Virmani.
Unfortunately though, the hard work of the students did not reach as large an audience as hoped. Pinkowski expressed disappointment for the untimely hurdles that hindered student engagement.
“Unfortunately, the turnout was lower than usual. Due to snow and scheduling conflicts, we had to change the event date multiple times, which made it difficult to advertise properly. Normally, we run the event from Friday night to Saturday morning and screen the films on Saturday night. This year, we did it from Saturday to Sunday morning, which limited our ability to plan a later screening. That said, all the participants stayed to watch the films, which was great,” said Pinkowski.
The Andover Moviemakers’ Club plans to continue the Flash Films tradition next year despite the challenges. Virmani encourages all students to participate in this fun event, whether or not they have experience in filmmaking.
“If you’re interested in learning, that’s all that counts. When I came to Andover, I had barely shot any video at all. I had only done a little bit of photography, and even that wasn’t much. You can start from anywhere and explore whatever you want in the world of filmmaking. It’s just really fun, so I’d definitely encourage people to check it out,” said Virmani.
