HOOKSETT — Hooksett went Hollywood Wednesday night, as 29 teams of filmmakers and movie fans filled the Cinemagic Theater for the premiere of the short works created last weekend during the New Hampshire 48 Hour Film Project.

Although actors, directors and writers were all on the scene, there wasn't a celebrity in sight. The contestants are students, teachers, artists and truck drivers — among other professions — who jumped at the challenge to create a four- to seven-minute film in a weekend.

“It's frantic,” said Dan Larson of Strange Ink Pictures. “But that's part of the fun. When you see some of the films on screen and maybe they're not quite finished or the exposure's not right, you know that they encountered some stuff and had some tough decisions to make and tragedy to overcome. It's all part of the fun of participating.”

The local chapter of an international competition with branches in 110 cities, the New Hampshire 48 Hour Film Project gives participants 48 hours to produce a movie.

Teams start on a Friday night and turn in their finished product Sunday evening. The winning film from each festival then enters an international competition.

To ensure the films are made in that one weekend, all must include the same prop, character and line of dialogue, assigned at the contest's beginning. Last Friday, filmmakers found out they needed to include a scarf, a water tester named Doug or Donna Dupin, and the phrase “It's been a long, long time.”

It's up to each team's discretion how much to include the various elements, and the finished films emphasized the scarf in a range of ways, using it as everything from a murder weapon to an accessory casually worn by a minor character.

“We've learned that it's more fun and it's more true to the spirit of the contest if you do try to include that character as a central element,” said Larson, an illustrator from Manchester. “So for us, Donna Dupin, water tester, is integral. It all revolves around her and her water-testing abilities.”

In addition to the prescribed story elements, each team is randomly assigned a genre, including silent film, mockumentary and comedy.

Last year's winning New Hampshire team, Wicked Sick Films, returned for a fourth year and sought to redefine their assigned genre of romance with their move “Love and Magic.”

“We got romance, but it's more of a comedy-type of romance, if anything,” said team member Pat Tierney, a Laconia resident and student at Lakes Region Community College. “It was pretty tiring and monotonous. There's a lot of pressure behind it to complete in 48 hours.”

Although all 29 teams finished the project, four turned in their films late, disqualifying them from moving forward in the competition or winning any awards. The 25 films completed on time will be eligible for awards for writing, acting and musical score, as well as for best use of the character, prop and dialogue. Awards, including the overall best film that will compete at an international level, are scheduled to be announced in August.

Screening attendees also voted for their favorite film, and the audience choice will be announced later this week.

“There is absolutely a friendly competition between the teams, where you see the same names every year,” said Larson. “To be able to get all those people together and get all the work done, you've got to be dedicated.”

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Katie Lannan may be reached at klannan@newstote.com.