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Twurt Chamberlain entertains audiences during the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Davis Sharp, the young daughter of producer Stella Brooks Sharp, sits with Charlotte Beard, Tracey Bruce and Ricky Bruce at the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

About 50 people attended the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” at the Natchez Civic Center on Friday night and mingled. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

About 50 people attended the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” at the Natchez Civic Center on Friday night and mingled. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Attendees can enjoy free refreshments at the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” at the Natchez Civic Center on Friday night. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Actor Ritchie Montgomery and actress and producer Emily Brinks pose together on the red carpet during the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Marisa and Andrew Gore pose on the red carpet during the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” at the Natchez Civic Center on Friday night. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Britney Craig and Rosie Woods shine in the red carpet spotlight during the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

The 48 Hour Film Project Awards are on the program at the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

The Natchez Film Co.’s award-winning short film “Postal Parasites” took third place in the 48 Hour Film Project New Orleans competition. The trophy will be on display during the film’s premiere Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

The Natchez Film Co.’s award-winning short film “Postal Parasites,” which placed third in the 48 Hour Film Project New Orleans competition, will be shown on the big screen Friday night during its premiere at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

Mayor Dan Gibson and his wife Marla watch the premiere of the award-winning short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center. (Sabrina Robertson | The Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ – About 50 people attended the premiere of the Natchez Film Co. short film “Postal Parasites” Friday night at the Natchez Civic Center and interacted with talented actors, musicians and filmmakers.

Producer Davis Sharp and a team of local and national collaborators came together to produce the award-winning seven-minute short film, which took third place in the 48 Hour Film Project New Orleans competition.

As the name suggests, they shot the film from start to finish in less than 48 hours, being assigned a prop, character and dialogue at the launch event in New Orleans on Friday, June 7. The rest of the work, including filming, was done in Natchez, where a crew was assembled and already stationed to receive instructions by phone.

48-Hour Film Project: Bill Rainey, producer for the city of New Orleans and host of Friday’s premiere, said the competition has been around since 2001, starting in Washington, DC, and has now expanded to 120 cities around the world.

The crowd enjoyed hot sausage, boudin, jambalaya and nachos from the Natchez Heritage School of Cooking, as well as free drinks and cover music by Twurt Chamberlain, while waiting for premiere organizers to perfect the sound system.

The applause that followed the screening of “Postal Parasites” and two of its rival films that were competing in New Orleans was more than worth the wait.

They saw familiar locations, including Smoot’s Grocery and Madison Street, on screen in a gripping story about two filmmakers struggling to survive and stealing packages to make money for their movie. When one of them begins to question the morality of their actions, things take a horrific turn.

A portion of the proceeds from Friday night’s event also went to a good cause. Guest of honor Donna Presley, first cousin of Elvis Presley, and Mississippi Music Foundation President and Chairman Peter Whitham came to support the foundation.

“Every film production in Natchez supports small businesses and the local economy by creating jobs and a financial windfall when cast and crew travel from all over for months to stay, eat and shop at local venues,” said Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson.

Gibson credited former Mayor Tony Byrne and a Church Hill filmmaking duo, Tate Taylor and John Norris, for their work and bringing films to Natchez that were shot here.

Taylor and Norris “brought a culture here,” Gibson said. “What we’re seeing now is that they’re accomplishing so much with the millions of dollars they’ve invested in our local economy, along with a new film studio on Liberty Road — where Kelly’s Kids used to be is now a 80,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility. I love their philosophy of investing in the local community to develop local talent. Davis (Sharp) is one of those products.”

In addition to third place overall, Postal Parasites took home eight first place awards in various categories, including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Makeup, Best Screenplay, Best Ensemble Acting, Best Character Development and Best Original Score.