”¦or how I spent my weekend.

This year, the Crazy 8s filmmaking competition invited yours truly to sit on their jury to judge pitches made in person by filmmaking teams.

If you haven't heard of Crazy 8s, it's an annual Vancouver filmmaking competition now in its 12th year. Prospective filmmaking teams pitch their ideas to make a short film, and six finalists will be given $800 to make their films in only eight days.

But it's a pretty lengthy selection process that entrants have to go through.

This year's competition began back in December when 120 teams submitted five-minute video pitches for their film ideas. From that batch, 42 semi-finalists were chosen to pitch in person.

Fellow jurors included media consultant Sue Biely, "Man Feel Pain" director Dylan Akio-Smith, and Vancouver Film School instructor Kat Montagu.

On Friday and Saturday (January 28 and 29), we listened to 42 teams pitch their ideas for a short film in only five minutes. There was quite a diverse range of presentations, including some with props and costumes, others with the polished delivery of stand-up comics. And there was even a dildo. (Isn't there always?)

Comedies tended to predominate, and there were also a number of sci-fi and horror pitches. But there were relatively few dramas.

Believe me, it really was tough narrowing down the pitches to the 13 semi-finalists, who will go on to work with a professional story editor. There were lengthy discussions, and we ran over time talking about each pitch.

From the scripts of these 13 semi-finalists, six winning teams will be chosen on February 28 to make their films. Their completed films will be screened at the Vogue Theatre on April 9.

Well, after all that deliberation and debate, here are the 13 semi-finalists. (There were only supposed to be 12 semi-finalists but we had such a difficult time whittling the entrants down that we ended up including 13.)

Alchemy – Zachary Rothman (writer/director), Heather Lindsay (producer)
A man and a woman are so wrapped up in their crumbling marriage they fail to notice that outside, the world is ending.

Boarding Mrs. Marcowitz – Shaun McKinlay (director), Athan Merrick (producer), Julie Strangeland and Shaun McKinlay (writers)
Two adult children gain a fresh perspective on their childhood when forced to care for their aging mother in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

Dead Friends – Stephen Martin (writer/director)
Nine-year old Lola’s only friend is her stuffed rabbit, until the human ear she finds and plants in the earth grows into her new best friend.

The False Tooth Fairy – Erick Boychuk (director), Jonathan Endo (producer), Brad Huffman-Parent (writer)
A father is convinced to dress up as the tooth fairy to surprise his little girl when she loses her first tooth, but everything that can go wrong, does.

Funny Business – Russell Bennett (director), Gillian Bennett and Andrew Templeton (producers), Andrew Templeton (writer)
Worried about his problem with premature ejaculation, a man discovers he can bring his lover to orgasm by making her laugh. All is well, until he starts running short on jokes”¦

Learning to Walk – Mackenzie Gray (director), William Maranda (producer), Katherine Hill (writer)
On the day of the wedding, a 30-something woman and the late 20s, Rwandese woman soon to become her step-mom are forced to confront the awkwardness between them.

Helping Hands – Nathan Boey (director), Joe Klymkiw (producer)
A traffic cop dreams of using his skills for more, but hand modeling school introduces him to a world more fiercely competitive than he ever imagined.

Noodle Soup – Jessica Moorhouse (writer/director)
Frustrated job-seeker Darla discovers she can make a living answering the often strange requests in the personal ads, but just how far is she willing to go?

The Phone – Bruce Spangler (director), Mark Schroeder and Bruce Spangler (writers)
Big Ivan has lost his phone, and he’s horrified to discover that not only has it rebranded itself as iVan, it’s also taking over his identity and doing much better without him!

No Right Choice – Rehan Khokhar (writer/director) and Cole Hewlett (producer)
12-year-old Peter’s teacher becomes concerned about his monthly absences. When he makes a home visit to investigate, he discovers the terrible secret Peter and his father have been hiding.

Run Dry – Sarah Crauder (director), Jordan Hall (writer)
In a future Vancouver running out of water, a young working-class woman has to decide what price is too high for black-market papers that would let her escape the dying city with her privileged boyfriend.

Sparkle Bunny – Matthew Kowalchuk (director), Nathan Medd (producer), Sara Bynoe & Matthew Kowalchuk (writers)
Sparkle Bunny is a candy raver—the last of her tribe but still living the dream. Until an encounter with an ex-raver friend makes her question herself and the drum-and-bass beat she still marches to.

Who Says? – John R. Taylor (writer/director)
Three lives intersect on a public bus—a skateboarder, an elderly man and a young blind man—and as a connection unfolds we are invited to question our judgments and assumptions.