1. Eligibility & Teams
The challenge is open to filmmakers of all experience levels.
Teams must consist of two to five individuals, including cast and crew.
All team members must be registered prior to the kickoff.
All teams must have permission to film at the chosen production locations.
Participants must be at least 18 years old or have parental consent if under 18.
2. Kickoff & Required Elements
At the official kickoff, each team will receive:
A genre
A required line of dialogue
A required character name
Required Line of Dialogue
The assigned line must be included verbatim in the film.
The line may be spoken by any character and at any point in the film or shown in writing.
The line must be prominently and clearly audible or visible in your film.
Failure to include the required line exactly as provided may result in disqualification.
3. Timeframe
Filmmaking may begin only after the official kickoff.
All writing, filming, and editing must occur within the 48-hour window.
Films must be submitted by the official deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted.
4. Film Requirements
Maximum runtime: 5 minutes, including credits (unless otherwise specified).
Films must be original works created specifically for this challenge.
Pre-existing footage, scripts, or completed projects are not permitted.
All music, sound effects, and visuals must be original, licensed, or royalty-free with proper rights secured.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate creative content is prohibited during the Tyler Film Fest 48-Hour Film Festival. All films submitted must be conceived, written, performed, shot, edited, and produced by human participants during the official competition window.
Standard filmmaking tools and software used for recording, editing, color correction, sound mixing, and post-production are allowed, provided they do not generate original creative content autonomously. Automation features that support efficiency (such as rendering, compression, stabilization, or noise reduction) are acceptable so long as they do not create new visual, audio, or narrative elements.
