Young filmmakers plunge into 48 Hours of Madness
The Museum of Contemporary Art’s Sherwood Auditorium will play host to many an exhausted and excited amateur filmmaker, as the public is invited Sunday afternoon to the screenings of the “48 Hours of Madness” entries. Thirty-five high school and college teams will be e-mailed an identical five-page script on Friday, March 7 and will have only 48 hours to interpret, re-write, shoot and edit their films in order to screen them for judging from 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
“The creative genius that comes out of this is unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” said David Larson, executive director of BestFest America. “They can interpret it any way they want, they just have to tell the same story.”
Part of BestFest America, this is the seventh annual 48 Hours contest. Each team consists of five students from the same school, one teacher and an unlimited number of actors, production staff, etc. The films, all rated PG-13, are five minutes or less and a variety of genres. Tickets for the public will be $15 at the door and include a casual dinner.
Awards will be given for the top three college and high school entries and there will be audience choice awards for both college and high school.
Sherwood Auditorium is located at 700 Prospect St.
For information, visit www.BestFestAmerica.com.

City Ballet production of ‘Carmina Burana’ returns
Pacific Beach’s City Ballet will present resident choreographer Elizabeth Rowe Wistrich’s take on "Carmina Burana" as part of its 15th anniversary season Friday through Sunday, March 7 to 9, at the Birch North Park Theatre.
“[Carmina Burana] is very popular,” said Jo Anne Emery, managing director at City Ballet. “People like to see it over and over again. That’s why every few years we bring it back.”
The two-hour performance will begin with the second act of the classical ballet act “Kingdom of the Shades” from “La Bayadère.”
There will be an intermission between “Kingdom of the Shades” and “Carmina Burana,” featuring an abstract depiction of music set to poems found in an ancient Bavarian monastery.
The music, by Carl Orff, is a sensual representation of poems written by 13th-century minstrels and monks who had branched off from monastic discipline.
The performances feature City Ballet’s professional company along with two male dancers from the Nevada Ballet Theatre because of injuries sustained by City Ballet’s own male dancers.
The Birch North Park Theatre is located at 2891 University Ave. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets are available at www.cityballet.org or by phone, (858) 272-2663. Tickets range from range from $29 to $59, with $10 discounts for students, seniors and military.