Participating in the 48 Hour Film Fest
This event is open to anyone aged 18 years and older who will be in the Las Vegas area the weekend of the festival, October 10-12, 2025. Each team will have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a film of no less than one minute and no more than five minutes thirty seconds (5.5 minutes) in length, including all credits.
All contest participants should meet on Friday, October 10th at 6:00 pm in FDH 109 on UNLV's main campus. Filmmaking begins promptly at 7:00 p.m. that evening, and concludes exactly 48 hours later, at 7:00 pm on October 12th. Films will be screened publicly for free on Thursday, October 16th at 7:00 pm in FDH 109. (Doors will open at 6:30 pm.)
One person from each participating team should submit an official registration, which is $53 ($48 plus an online processing fee of $5); tickets purchased in person at the Performing Arts Center Box Office at UNLV are $48.
NOTE: In addition to submitting the completed film by 7:00 pm on October 12th, teams must also submit the following two items by 7:00 pm on October 14th:
1. A copy of the film with burned-in, human-corrected, fully accurate captions for all dialogue, lyrics, and major sound effects; captions can be created by the filmmaking team or obtained via online captioning services such as rev.com (but should be reviewed and edited as needed before submitting your film).
2. An official movie poster (18x24 inches; 2250x3000 pixels).
Contest Rules
Overview, Fees, and Deadlines
The UNLV Department of Film is hosting the annual 48 Hour Film Fest. All teams should submit an official registration by 6:00 pm on October 10th, using the "REGISTER YOUR TEAM" button. The fee for registration is $48 (plus $5 when paid online). The completed film should be submitted by 7:00 pm on October 12th via the "SUBMIT FINISHED FILM" button.
A submitted application constitutes the agreement of the participant(s) to be bound by these contest rules and any other rules posted on the website or announced at the start of the festival. Failure to abide by these rules may result in disqualification from the contest at the discretion of the chair of the Department of Film, Heather Addison, and/or the festival coordinator, D.J. Burtch. Participants must inform the festival coordinator if they, or any cast or crew-member, are related to any of the judges. At the option of the festival coordinator, films completed late may be submitted and screened, but will not be eligible for competition.
Teams must follow all UNLV guidelines related to health and safety during the production of 48 Hour Film Fest entries. Use of real firearms, ammunition, or explosive devices of any kind is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate disqualification.
Format of Competition
The objective of the 48 Hour Film Fest is to create the best short film of no less than one (1) minute, and no more than five minutes thirty seconds (5.5 mins) in duration, including all credits, solely within a 48-hour period, which will include writing a script, casting, filming (at any legal location), editing, and scoring (subject to copyright restrictions), based generally on, but not limited to:
• a genre (which will be different for each team)
• character
• a prop
• a line of dialogue
The film must be an original work created entirely in the designated 48-hour period, except that participants may record original music, or obtain permission to use the copyrighted music of others, in advance of the contest.
The film should be submitted online with the "SUBMIT FINISHED FILM" button on this page, and must include a downloadable Vimeo or a Google drive link (YouTube links are NOT accepted). All submitted films must include the UNLV FILM 48 Film Fest 5-second outro, which can be downloaded from the entry form.
Selection of Winning Entries
A panel of experts will evaluate the films, and the decision of the judges will be announced immediately following the public screening. The decision of the judges is final.
If participants have any question as to whether the subject matter or content of their film is appropriate for an all-ages public screening, they must notify D.J. Burtch (dj.burtch@unlv.edu) at the time the film is submitted.
Use of Film and Intellectual Property Rights
Participants are solely responsible for protecting any intellectual property rights the participants may have in their contest entry, and are further solely responsible for obtaining permission, or otherwise complying with intellectual property laws pertaining to the film’s content (such as use of music, literary and other artistic expression of others). Participants, on behalf of themselves and their cast and crew, agree that the UNLV Department of Film is given non-exclusive express permission to make and maintain copies of films and to use the films, along with names of participants and winners, as part of advertising of the competition, and for other instructional, educational and historical purposes without any compensation to participants or their cast and crew.
Legal Issues
Contest is void where prohibited by law. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. All participants, including cast and crew, assume liability for all costs, damages, and injuries related in any way to participation in this contest, and agree to indemnify the contest director and the Nevada Board of Regents and UNLV from any and all such costs, damages, and injuries, including any claims of violation of copyright law. UNLV will not be providing insurance for the participants, or their cast and crew, and participants are encouraged to obtain insurance on their own behalf. Participants, on behalf of themselves and their cast and crew, release the Board of Regents, UNLV and their respective employees, officers and agents, as well as the judges, from any and all liability from injury, cost, and damage resulting from participation in the festival. Participants agree that they will not use any cast or crew members unless the cast and crew members have reviewed these festival rules and have agreed to their terms.