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How long does it take to make a film? Weeks? Months? Years? How about 36 hours?

That’s the challenge that awaits you if you’re a student from the Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities and you want to be a part of this year’s annual MAH 36 Hour Film Challenge!

Taking place between 8 - 9 November 2025, the 36 Hour Film Challenge will give you the opportunity to act, shoot, write, edit and screen a film of your own making, all in 36 hours. You will have the opportunity to showcase your talents in a fast-paced filmmaking challenge, with prizes of up to £500 a team.

Working in teams of up to ten people, you will be challenged to create a compelling four-minute film that includes a random prop, random location, and mystery parameter that you will be given by the organisers. Don’t worry - you will have everything you need to complete the challenge as you’ll be given all the necessary equipment to produce a film, courtesy of the Faculty's media stores!

The challenge aims to test your ingenuity and endurance, encouraging you to think outside of the box and reconsider what you know about filmmaking. Lily Shepherd, one of the second-place winners from last year’s challenge said "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."

Once you have finished and submitted your film it will be screened the next day (Sunday 9 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 you to showcase your 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 £100. The judging panel has yet to be confirmed, though previous years have seen the University of Sussex Vice-Chancellor, Creative Director of ACCA and Dean of the Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities sit on the panel.

If you are interested in getting involved and becoming one of this year’s 36 Hour Film Challenge filmmakers, come along to the briefing on Wednesday 22 October at 1pm in Silverstone Building, room SB 121. 

Tickets for the film screenings on Sunday 9 November are free and can be found here!

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