If you've even been the least bit interested in the work I've been doing since the Friday before last to review each of the finalists of the Great Expectations Film "Hopes and Fears" Film contest, then you've undoubtedly seen the winner already. If you attended the Citizen's Convention the Sunday before last, you saw it there as well.
"Prayer for Philadelphia" by Richard Power Hoffman was the Grand Prize winner, undoubtedly because it is quite an achievement in short film making. Hoffman uses a variant of stop motion photography with a lot of quick zooms and pans to challenge the viewer to see Philadelphia in a way that they don't often view it - thoughtfully, artistically and in fine detail. At one point he drills down to a single fleck of pebble in sidewalk to drive home his point that in the city, in all of its gritty glory, is ingrained into its residents. Why else would they choose to live here?
That's the question that Hoffman seeks to answer. Why would we choose to live in a city that seems to revel in its position in the shadow of New York and root for the team with the most losses in major league history? If we can find the answer to that question, then we can possibly tap into it - whatever "it" is - and use it to revitalize and rebuild the city to a place of glory.
Hoffman also employs a haunting soundtrack that pulses throughout the film to represent the beating heart of city that refuses to die. The narration is effective and the background narration with its John Facenda-like quality pulls the viewer in and forces us to listen to his every word.
Clearly, Hoffman is skilled with his editing and apparently, like his "Fridays at the Farm," he's used this style on other films. This type of creativity and the very fact that techniques like this exist are what make me want to go to film school to broaden my knowledge of the medium beyond my self-taught and very basic Final Cut skills.
As cool as the film is, I still think that I'd go with "Mayor for a Day" as my choice for winner. While "Prayer" is the crafted more finely than any of the others, the raw emotion of "Mayor" and the films ability to connect viewers of all different backgrounds with the hopes and fears of members of the most vulnerable population in the city set it apart.
Click on "Continue Reading" to check it out and feel free to leave some comments here and at the film's Great Expectations page.
Thanks for taking part in this cinematic journey. Let's hope that Great Expectations and/or the Greater Philadelphia Film Office does this again next year!