DU Film Society’s Scene Recreation Challenge falls appropriately in the spirit of awards season, and it dazzled spectators and participants alike. The instructions were simple, deceivingly so, one could say: participants were urged to form small crews and recreate, to the best of their abilities, any scene from any movie. The event on the evening of Friday 6th in the Jonathan Swift theatre comprised the public screening of these submissions which, while short in numbers, did perfectly demonstrate the vast scope of creativity and interpretative ingenuity the participants were challenged to showcase.
The room was alight with excitement, with an audience of many society members and a few straggler aficionados – myself included – having gathered for the viewing. Admittedly, the number of attendees seems to have suffered from the constraints of academic deadlines and the general business of the season, but this in no way took away from the pleasant ambience and lively conversation. The atmosphere was of a very communal and tight-knit viewership united by its love of films and filmmaking, and happily celebrating the labour of fellow creatives.
This was extremely apparent in the reception and celebration of the evening’s two screened submissions, both equally brilliant, hilarious, and obvious labours of much love and care. Two teams stood up to the challenge and competed for the podium: the Shrek75s and the SingStreetLesbians.
The first scene was the Shrek75s’ work, which was a recreation of the Shrek 2 (Dreamworks, 2004) carriage scene, a much adored fan-favourite. The performances and deliveries of the actors were outstanding, and the comedy of the original was fully translated, and arguably enhanced, in the recreation. This submission truly showcased the joy of filmmaking and filmwatching, as well as delivering an entertaining version of a comedy staple.
Then, last but not least, was the SingStreetLesbians’ recreation of the Sing Street (dir. John Carney, 2016) scene where Conor meets Raphina. Their rendition exemplified tremendous attention to detail and quality, and the familiarity of the audience with the Dublin setting of both the original and replicated scenes added to the experience. The group delivered a spin on the original, presenting an all-female and WLW version which elevated the source material while staying loyal and appreciative of it.
Both submissions were well received and applauded, so when time came for the awards section there was true suspense over the outcome. Overall, the awards were evenly split between the groups. The SingStreetLesbians came away with the awards for Best Visually Recreated Scene and for Best Recreated Costume and Makeup, while the Shrek75s claimed Most Ambitious Scene Recreation. The two most coveted results, each with their respective prize, were the Most Accurately Recreated Performance and the Best Recreation Overall; The first was bestowed upon Prince Charming, from the Shrek75s, who was awarded a pack of Haribo gummies, and the second went to the SingStreetLesbians, who all received some much coveted IFI vouchers. These results were loudly and jovially celebrated by the audience, as were the victors’ honorary speeches and the impromptu Q&A incited by Prince Charming.
Participating in this event truly made me jealous of the craftsmanship and the abilities demonstrated by its participants, as well as appreciative of these small communities created among fans of films and filmmaking that can be found here at Trinity. These screenings and challenges are absolutely not to miss!
