THE YOFI 50 HOUR FILM CHALLENGE
Are you up for a challenge?
Clear the Weekend of October 31 and make a short film!
Enter the YoFi 50 Hour Film Challenge and you and your movie will be a part of the 13th annual YoFi Fest film festival and eligible for an Audience Choice award.​
Questions? Email us at yofi50hourfilmchallenge@gmail.com
Many people want to be a part of making a film, but haven’t done it before and don’t know how to become a part of the process. Others have done it before, but know that it can be a long and laborious process, so they don’t feel they can make a long commitment.
Well, the YoFi 50 Hour Film Challenge offers an opportunity that solves both those problems: It is a fun, exciting, wild ride that draws teams of novice and experienced filmmakers into a whirlwind of creativity and collaboration as teams write, shoot, and edit a short film—all within 50 hours! And it is free to register for and be a part of!
The YoFi 50HFC is a great way to spend a weekend making a movie with old and new friends and then share it at a film festival. The clock starts counting down at 8pm on the Friday evening when the prompts are announced, then the teams have exactly 50 hours to write, shoot, and edit their film using the assigned genre, character, prop, and lines of dialogue that are announced at the kick-off event. The finished films must be submitted by 10pm on the following Sunday.
​
-
OVERVIEW
Want to be a part of this adventure? Here’s all you need to do to participate:
STEP 1: Register as a team or individual online HERE before 5pm on Friday, October 31, 2025 (You will get a link to the Kick-Off event when you register)
STEP 2: Attend the Kick-Off Event on Zoom at 6:30pm on Friday, October 24, 2025 (contest officially starts at 8pm).
• From 6:30pm to 7:30pm, we will be introducing individuals to potential teammates, so come early if you want to connect with people or a team.
• From 7:30pm to 8pm we will be answering any questions about the challenge.
• At 8pm we will reveal the required elements and officially start the clock. The Challenge elements will also be available on YoFiFest.com at 8pm.
STEP 3: Complete and submit your short film online by 10pm on Sunday, November 2, 2025
STEP 4: Bring your cast, crew, family and friends to the premiere to vote for your film at the Screening Party and Audience Choice Voting at 6pm on Friday, November 14, 2025 at YoFi’s Digital Media Art Center (details HERE) [*Each qualifying film will receive free tickets for three registered participants.]
STEP 5: Come to YoFi Fest’s closing night party to find out the winners at 7pm on Sunday, November 16, 2025 (details HERE) [*Each qualifying film will receive free tickets for three registered participants.]
-
HELPFUL TIPS
FOR FRIDAY:
• Put together a list of all the resources you have available to the production.
• Figure out a realistic schedule for the weekend (and try to stick to it).
• Get a first draft of the script done ASAP so everyone on the team will know what people, places and things will be needed for the shoot. You can always do re-writes while everyone is prepping.
FOR SATURDAY:
• Be patient and be nice; everyone on the team is working to make the same great film.
• Keep it simple and don’t get bogged down on things that aren’t vital to telling the story.
• Limit your amount of locations. Moving takes a lot of time, which you don’t have.
• People are not machines and need breaks, food and water to do their best work.
• Make sure you backup all your data.
• There will be some bumps in the road and things won’t go as planned, so be ready to pivot and make changes on the fly so you can keep moving forward.
FOR SUNDAY:
• The project is in the home stretch, and you’ll be tired, but don’t give up.
• You have to make the deadline, so don’t let perfection be the enemy of completion.
• You have to submit the film.
• The internet can be erratic, so don’t wait until the last minute to do the uploads.