RIPFest is a guerrilla filmmaking event wherein professional filmmakers who have never worked together are given sixteen days to collaborate on and create six original ten-minute films from scratch.

RIPFest #6 will be all Movie Musicals. Raw Impressions, is the only company in the world to have an annual program designed to create Movie Musicals directly for the screen. For RIPFest #6, half the films will be created in NY the other half in LA. All films will be screened on both coasts, premiering May 23, 2005.

Since its founding by David Rodwin in September 2001, Raw Impressions has gained a reputation of supporting their hand-picked professionals through this intense task. The Raw Impressions process, environment and structure creates the possibility for work to be made of an excellence that speaks for itself. It’s this process that has attracted the extraordinary group of artists who are lining up for RIPFest #6 including Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman and former “South Park” writer Matt Prager.

It’s the word of mouth about what a fantastic experience this is from former participants like The Head Writer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”, DJ Javerbaum, and Tony Award-winner Tonya Pinkins that brings in the newest group of artists like MacArthur “Genius” Award winner Susan Marshall and up and coming film director Sean Mewshaw who’s film “Last Night” starring Frances McDormand is now making the festival circuit. That and the fact that they get to make a movie musical. Because, where else can they do that? With Broadway’s best talent.

It is Raw Impressions expertise and track record in Music Theatre which allows them the insight to create this unique process as well as access to such talent. In their separate live-stage Music Theatre division, they have created 148 ten-minute musicals since their founding. The quality of this output won them the Jonathan Larson Award for Artistic Vision in Music Theatre - a prestigious honor never before awarded to a company so young.

The Process: On Saturday, May 7, 2005, six teams will be announced including a writer, producer, director, composer, editor, DP, actors and a crew. Before this, none of the teams have begun writing, composing or even brainstorming what they’ll be making. It’s only when they meet for this first time and are given guidelines which include two locations they’re required to shoot at, the actors they’ll be custom-tailoring the films to and the theme binding all the projects together that they start working. The intense schedule for the next 16 days is as follows:

Day 1 & 2: Write the first draft of the script.

Day 3 & 4: Rewrites and vocal recording.

Days 5 & 6: Pre-production.

Days 7 & 8: Shoot the film.

Days 9 -15: Post production.

Day 16: Films are premiered in New York and LA. May 23, 2005