Plan 709 from Outer Space is an open challenge by the Nickel Independent Film Festival in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to create a fan remake of the hilarious classic sci-fi film Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Why remake Plan 9?
Plan 9 is the king of so-bad-it's-good cinema. We love it so much. It has everything: shoddy props, a confusing plot, flying saucers on strings, government cover-ups, silk-wearing aliens with obvious contempt for humanity, very slow zombies, inconsistent lighting, inconsistent sets, pillow stealing, repetitive dialogue, Bela Lugosi and a Bela Lugosi lookalike who only looks like him from the nose up.
It's also a movie that can easily be improved on, let's say.
How will it work?
The challenge kicks off officially on May 10, 2024 — one month from Nickel's opening night — and it will continue with weekly deadlines until June 15th. There are 40 clips to recreate, so we'll need all the help we can get!
Sign up and you'll receive a unique clip to remake in your inbox each week. You'll have 7 days to remake it in any style, any genre, using any tools or techniques you want. After the deadline passes, any clips that have not been made will be thrown back into the pool and divvied up again at the next weekly start time. Do as many as you can! It's okay if you can only do one.
The weeks:
From May 10 to May 17 at 7pm
From May 17 to May 24 at 7pm
From May 24 to May 31 at 7pm
From May 31 to June 7 at 7pm
From June 7 to June 14 at 7pm
What happens when it's all done?
When it's over we'll edit the full film together and screen it on the big screen at the Nickel Independent Film Festival on Sunday, June 16 — the last night of the festival.
We're no stranger to film challenges but it's the first time we've ever done anything quite like this, so we can imagine the screening is gonna be wild.
What are the rules?
For regulars for our film challenges there are a few extra rules to be aware of...
Don't Use Video/Audio/Music from the original!
Since this is a fan-remake the idea is to make something inspired by the original film, so please don't copy any of it directly.
Don't Add Music at All! (We'll add it in ourselves)
And don't worry about music at all! We'll be adding a musical soundtrack after to keep it consistent and make sure the licensing is a-okay. Sound effects are welcome though, as long as you have permission to use them in your work.
Other key rules:
• Your submitted clip must be EXACTLY THE SAME LENGTH (or even shorter) of your assigned clip.
• Upload your clip by your assigned deadline or you'll risk losing your spot.
• We need to keep it PG-13 so we don't traumatize any parents. We retain the right to not include any clips we deem inappropriate for any reason.
• Younger people are definitely welcome, but everyone under 18 requires parental or guardian consent to participate, especially if they are shown onscreen.
Brought to you by the Nickel Independent Film Festival, coming to the LSPU Hall June 10-16, 2024! Full festival schedule will be released on May 15, 2024 at nickelfestival.com