SML Productions director and editor Cameron Hunt (22), of Wellington, said he learnt this month the short film We Run the Night he created with producer Sam Reynolds (22), of Hawkes Bay, cinematographer Woody Bruce (21), of Rotorua, composer Sam Mehrtens (22), of Queenstown, lead actor Sam Kitson (22), of Christchurch, and lead actress Isabel Aitchison (21), of Taranaki, had made the grand finals of the 48Hours competition.
The whole team studied at the University of Otago with the exception of Mr Bruce, who studied at Otago Polytechnic, Mr Hunt said.
In May, the team had 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a short film, with the stipulation there be no dialogue, Mr Hunt said.
With a minute spare, the team entered a 4.5-minute ''love story in reverse, that starts at the end and ends at the start'', he said.
The film included scenes in the Octagon and the Dunedin Northern Cemetery.
''It has a lovely shot of Dunedin from up there.''
Last year - the first year SML Productions entered the competition - the team was disqualified when it entered a film 4 minutes late, he said.
''This year we really bounced back and have done awesome,'' Mr Hunt said.
They would go up against 10 other grand finalists at the Auckland Civic Theatre on Tuesday.
The films will be streamed live at Metro Cinema in Dunedin and entry is by gold coin donation.
