The 52-Film Fest is a 52-hour film competition in Johnson City, Tennessee (www.52filmfest.com). The 5th-annual event will take place February 27-March 1st, 2026 at the ETSU Martha Culp Auditorium where teams will have 52 hours to create a short film within given restraints. The event is presented by ETSU's Media & Communication Department (www.etsu.edu/mcom). The original event was a collaboration between the ETSU MCOM Department, The Wallace Theatre, and ActionVFX (www. https://www.actionvfx.com/).

REGISTRATION:

Please register by hitting the "submit now" button--although we know you don't have a film to submit yet! Submit your team name using the FilmFreeway system so we know you'll be participating:

1. You will need to create an account & log in,
2. Create a project (the project name should be your team name).
3. Submit the project. If you are using a waiver for students, you will enter the waiver at checkout.

We will send you additional details once you have registered. The deadline to register using FilmFreeway is February 25th.

EVENT SCHEDULE:

Friday, February 27th, 8am-10:00am: elements & team bags are disseminated to teams at Spark Plaza. Teams work on films.

Sunday, March 1st, noon: films must be dropped off at the the Culp Auditorium at ETSU: D.P.Culp University Center, 412 J L Seehorn Jr Rd, Johnson City, TN 37604

Sunday, March 1st, 6pm: screening of on-time films at the Culp Auditorium. Awards presented after screening at the at the D.P.Culp University Center, 412 J L Seehorn Jr Rd, Johnson City, TN 37604.

Awards & Prizes

Audience Award
A. Pearson Prize
Best of Show
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best College Film
Best High School Film

Rules & Terms

Rules & Terms:

> The 52-Film Fest will take place Feb 27th to March 1st, 2026.
>Teams will have 52 hours to create a short film within given restraints to be disseminated to an in-person representative between 8am-10am on Friday, February 27th at Spark Plaza in Johnson City.
> Registration for the festival is available online until beginning on February 9th. (www.52filmfest.com). The fee to register a team for the competition is $52. Limited educational vouchers will be given to local school teams wishing to participate. Contact langes@etsu.edu for information.
> Teams will have 52 hours to create a 5.2 minute film that fulfill the requirements distributed on February 27th. Teams must deliver their complete films to the Martha Culp Auditorium on Sunday, March 1st by noon.
> All films that meet criteria and are delivered on-time will be eligible for competition prizes.
> All films will screen at 6pm at the Culp Auditorium on the ETSU campus followed by an awards presentation.

Please sign up using this FilmFreeway page. Additional instructions will be provided to teams before the beginning of the festival. Contact Shara Lange with any questions you may have: langes@etsu.edu

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