The 48 Hour Film Project is a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie – write, shoot, and edit – in just 48 hours. On Friday night, teams draw a genre from a hat. They are then given a character, prop and line to include in their films. On Sunday night, in a wild dash to the drop off event, the film is turned in – and teams celebrate. The film is then screened at a local theater in front of an audience of filmmakers, friends and families.

The 48HFP is the world’s oldest and largest timed filmmaking competition – the granddaddy of them all. If you want the real deal, this is it. The 48HFP is all about creativity and fun. It’s also about community. For years the 48HFP has been helping local creative people connect to make films. These connections go beyond filmmaking – taking part in the 48 helps people find friends, collaborators, jobs and even girlfriends & boyfriends! There are even some 48HFP married couples out there!

The 48HFP takes local filmmaking international! We are in 130 cities around the world, on 6 continents. What does this mean to the participants? If you win your city, you have entered the international arena. Filmmakers from each winning city are invited to screen their films at Filmapalooza – our end of year event, and the filmmakers meet (and party) at this filmmaking Olympic village as they compete for the international title of Best Film.

The 48 Hour Film Project’s mission is to advance filmmaking and promote filmmakers. Through its festival/competition, the Project encourages filmmakers and would-be filmmakers to get out there and make movies. The tight deadline of 48 hours puts the focus squarely on the filmmakers—emphasizing creativity and teamwork. While the time limit places an unusual restriction on the filmmakers, it is also liberating by putting an emphasis on doing instead of talking.