Making a movie can take months — or even years — to complete. But for the teams participating in CUFF and NUTV’s 48 Hour Movie Making Challenge, two days is all they’ve got.
Every part of the process — from writing and shooting to editing and adding music — must be completed within 48 hours. “I’m always amazed and inspired by what people can pull off in 48 hours because I know personally on the other end of it how scary and daunting the process can be,” says Cameron Macgowan, a Calgary-based filmmaker who did the challenge years ago before becoming a lead programmer for CUFF.
While he describes his own experience as “intense” with very little sleep, he says others thrive under the pressure. “If you’re ready for it, have fun with those types of restrictions and use them to your advantage, you can really turn out a good movie.”
The 22nd Calgary Underground Film Festival, which showcases the best in international independent cinema, takes place April 17 to 27 at the Globe Cinema. The completed shorts from the 48 Hour Movie Making Challenge (if they’re submitted on time) will be screened in front of a live audience and jury on the final night of the festival.
Some coveted prizes are on the line, including $500 for the winning film and bragging rights. The challenge is open to anyone — from first-time filmmakers to experienced directors. “We have weekend warriors who really just love the challenge and the event and getting together with their friends, but Calgary has become such a burgeoning film city,” says Macgowan. “I’d say over half the teams are professional filmmakers. It’s a really nice chance for emerging filmmakers to get their feet wet and to get involved in their local film community.”
Previously limited to 24 teams, the challenge has opened two more spots this year due to high demand. Teams have from 7 p.m. on Friday, March 28 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 30 to complete their short, which can range from two to five minutes long.
Macgowan says that most teams write Friday night, shoot Saturday and edit Sunday, while others do it all as they go. Each team is given a genre, prop and a line of dialogue they must incorporate into the film, which helps ensure that nothing can be prepared ahead of time.
In 2024, Comptrol, a biopic that had to include a Pop-Tart and a line about pussy willows, took home both the Jury Award for top film and the Audience Choice Award. Made by a returning team called Good Neighbours, the short film featured a city comptroller embattled in a personal crisis.
While they couldn’t pre-plan anything, the team knew they wanted a high-energy film with plenty of improvising. “Because we were using the familiar genre of a biopic, [and] cramming all of the clichés and tropes into it, it felt familiar to an audience,” says Nick Johnson, a Calgary-based writer, director, and animator who co-starred in Comptrol. “It was easy to connect with them through that [and] then subvert it by making it a parody and a satire.”
He says his team had a lot of fun making the movie — and they even managed to get some sleep while making it. Screening the short live made the experience even more special. “To hear the audience laughing throughout and quoting it after … It was really rewarding and exciting. We got the exact reaction we were hoping for.”
Johnson says the challenge is a good launching pad for making future films. He has since directed a full-length animated feature called Sunburnt Unicorn, which premiered at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France and screened at Chinook Theatre during the 2024 Calgary International Film Festival.
“The experience is invaluable. It teaches you so much … it gives you the confidence to keep making these things,” says Johnson, whose team is looking forward to taking part again this year.
Macgowan is also excited to see the new and returning teams’ ideas for the 2025 challenge. And with the event selling out yearly, the audience is undoubtedly as well. “It’s the party of the festival because it’s all local people celebrating each other’s work, but there’s also a friendly competitive element that adds a nice energy to the room,” Macgowan says. “It’s a sweaty long haul that no one regrets attending.”
The 2025 edition of the 48 Hour Movie Making Challenge will screen the completed short films at the Globe Cinema on Sunday, April 27.
