48-Hour Big Facts

The Cork City 48-Hour Challenge is taking place from 9am Friday the 26th of June to 9am Sunday the 28th of June. 

Teams must register their interest via our website, however registration does not mean automatic selection. The registration deadline is Midnight, 15th of June 2026.  You will receive an email confirmation if your registration is accepted. Once you have been officially accepted for the challenge, we will ask for a list of your crew and contact details. 

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All writing, shooting and editing must take place within the allotted 48 hours. The Picturehouse 48 team members reserve the right to check the metadata on competitors’ footage, script documents etc, if there is any suspicion that footage has been pre-shot.  Use of VFX, stock footage and royalty free music is accepted, though original score is highly encouraged!

Any use of generative AI is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification from the challenge.

The film must be seven minutes in length maximum (excluding end credits). The film may be in any language, however it should be subtitled if in any language other than English. Films can be filmed outside of Cork City, however teams must be present at The Everyman at 5:30pm on Sunday the 28th of June to be considered eligible for award. 

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The films must be submitted via our website by no later than  9am on Sunday the 28th of June to be eligible for award, though if late we may still screen your film ahead of the others.  Films will screen in reverse order of delivery, i.e the last film submitted will be on first. The films will be judged by a panel of judges including professionals in the film industry.

There will be awards for:

• Best Film

• Best Screenplay

• Best Editing

• Best Cinematography

• Two Acting Awards

• Best Original Music

• The Spirit of the Challenge Award

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The winner of Best Film will be selected for screening at the internationally renowned Fastnet Film Festival in 2027!

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The films will have to adhere to a number of rules (these may range from specified genres, themes, props or dialogue) - the general rules will be announced at our Announcement Party on Thursday the 25th of June, 7pm at Dali (Upstairs at Nudes Cocktail Bar), Lavitt's Quay. The Best Film will be judged both on its quality as a film but also how well it has adhered to, subverted or played within, the rules applied. 

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If you are interested in participating but don’t have a team, send on some details about you and your skills set and we’ll try and see if we can find a team for you to work with. If you need actors or more hands for your team, let us know and we’ll put a call out through our socials and contacts.