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How long does it take to make a film? Weeks? Months? Years?

What happens when you have 36 hours? 

That’s the challenge for students from the Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities, as the 36 Hour Film Challenges returns to the University of Sussex for yet another year.

Taking place between Saturday,7th to Sunday, 8th of November 2026, the 36 Hour Film Challenge provides the opportunity for students to showcase their talents in a fast-paced filmmaking challenge. The competition will see up to 100 students from the Faculty of Media Arts and Humanities participate.

Working in teams of up to twelve people, the students will plan, shoot, and edit a compelling four-minute film – all within a 36-hour timeframe. The teams will be given a prop, a location, and other mystery parameters that they will have to include in the creation of their film. They will also be provided with all the necessary equipment to produce a film by the Faculty's Media Stores.

The challenge aims to test the limits of creativity, encouraging students to think outside of the box and reconsider what they know about filmmaking. Here are some testimonials from students who participated in the previous years. 

Will Dare (BA Filmmaking) from The Chick Flicks production team – Winner of 1^st Prize “Having our film screened in an established event like that before we even handed our first assignments in was a very surreal feeling.”

 Lily Shepherd (MA Filmmaking) from The Masters  - Winner of 2^nd Prize "It was a great opportunity to showcase our creative skill sets, grow individually and as part of a collaborative team. Giving us all an opportunity to learn from each other and make something we would never have thought of making." 

 Sher Jazrawi (BA Filmmaking) from We Don’t Know Productions– winner of joint 3^rd prize for best effort – “It was full of ups and downs, twists and turns, so much rushing but we kept on rolling - it was a truly thrilling experience that I can't wait to do again next year!”

Once submitted, the films will be screened minutes after (Sunday 8th November) as part of the Cinecity Film Festival taking place at the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts. The Cinecity Film Festival is open to the public and offers the chance for the students to showcase their work and network with a range of industry professionals.

The stakes are high, with £500 awaiting the team in first place with the best film, followed by a second place prize of £300 and a third place prize of £200.

The judging panel will consit of Prof. Kate O'Riordan Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Students, Prof. Joanna Callaghan, artist filmmaker and filmmaking proffesor and Adam Cannell & Lewis Alford Co-Directors at On The Level Media and University of Sussex Alumni.

Teams will be asked to register online in the lead-up to the event, on a first-come-first-served basis. Registration is free, with more details to follow shortly.

• • Teams minimum of 5 (not including actors) and a maximum of 12 people.
  • The 5 core members must each take up a different role and include  Director, Producer, Camera, Sound, Editor. 
  • A minimum two core members must be from MAH Filmmaking/Media Production degrees (undergrad or postgrad).
  • Students from all MAH degrees are welcome to join teams as long as there is a minimum two member from MAH Filmmaking/Media Production. They can join either as Core or Supporting Roles e.g. composer, production assistant, runner, boom operator, sound design, actors.
  • You cannot collaborate with non-students on the making of the films (with the exception of actors). 
  • Actors can be friends, other students or other volunteers you may know. 

  • To register you will need the following information: team name, name of core members & supporting members if relevant (remember we encourage you to collaborate across year groups and courses).  Sussex emails (no non-Sussex emails accepted), course, year of study. 

To find out more:

Join the 36 Hour Film Challenge Canvas Page here. 

Registrations for teams will open on Monday 2nd of November. 

Tickets for the film screenings on Sunday 8th of November are free and can be found here!

*The views, opinions and creative expressions presented as part of this competition are those of the participating students and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of the University of Sussex, the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, their staff, partners or affiliates.