Filmapalooza 2022

In August of 2021, a 15 person crew made a very silly mockumentary for the 2021 Albuquerque 48 Hour Film Project. What we could not have possibly imagined is that our film would win five awards, including Best Film! So as a result, our team was invited to Filmapalooza 2022, so our film, Mike Mysteries, could screen in competition. Five brave souls made the trip, and this is our story.

From the get-go, we knew we were in for a fun time. After traveling 8 hours on two flights from Albuquerque, we arrived at the reception ceremony excited to meet our fellow filmmakers and talk cinema. From the panels, to the screenings, to the super-hype karaoke, to the impromptu hangouts with different teams, we really had a ball.

We ended up taking a detour on Friday night and went to dinner at José Andrés's [China Chilcano](https://www.chinachilcano.com), a Peruvian/Chinese/Japanese restaurant in the heart of the District. Fun times (and pisco sours) were had by all!


We also had a chance to tour Washington D.C. -- for many of us, it was the first time visiting and we got a chance to see many of the landmarks.

Finally, we attended the awards ceremony on Saturday, humble but hopeful. Despite not winning any major prizes, we collected our plaque for winning the Albuquerque competition and applauded all the winners.

Congratulations to Broodje Bokito from Rotterdam, Netherlands for Muze, which won Best Film! We collected some of the award winners and many of our favorite films of the festival here.

We also wanted to shout a few of our fellow filmmakers whom we befriended and consumed tasty beverages with, in no particular order: Les Casquettes, Pizza Sutra, Lightform, jpixx, Oochie Wallie Wallie, 21 Jump Cut, Wooden Hill Films, and Poi ci pensiamo. Go check them out.

All in all, it was a great experience. We got to see fantastic short films from all around the world, meet talented filmmakers, explore D.C., and eat great food. But most importantly, we gained a better understanding of how high the bar is -- to be competitive in next year's Filmapalooza, we'll need to redouble our efforts and make our best film yet.

Check out our vlog video below, courtesy of James Rodriguez:

Once again, shout out to our whole crew -- without your efforts, none of it would have been possible.

• Jordyn Bernicke
• Jacklyn Le
• Helen Atkins
• Damian Arya
• Ryan Lewis
• Sam Reed
• Adrian Lopez
• Alonso Indacochea
• Taryn Bernicke
• Nathan Moats
• Jay Renteria
• Frank Rangel
• Will Geusz
• Matthew Atkins
• James Rodriguez

And another thanks to Blue Sky Landscape Services and Willin and Chillin Arts for their support of Mike Mysteries.