2026 48hr Film Challenge

YouTube Channel link: https://youtube.com/live/FbaAx4E_vh8

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your cameras! The Omaha Film Festival is hosting a 48 Hour Film Challenge to spark creativity and collaboration among local creatives. Participants will be given 48 hours to write, shoot, edit, and deliver a film under 5 minutes in length (including credits).

The 48 Hour Challenge will commence on Friday, September 4th at 6:30pm on the Omaha Film Festival YouTube Channel.

Announcements for the rules will be made starting at 6:30pm and genres for qualifying teams will be drawn shortly thereafter!

Films will be due back before Sunday, September 6th at 7:00pm.

Final delivery to be an H.264 file sent to omahafilmfestival@gmail.com via a password protected (downloadable) Vimeo link, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

All films will be screened at the Aksarben Cinema on Thursday, September 17th.

Filmmakers can register for the 48hr Challenge at
REGISTRATION FORM

Entry form and fee deadline is Friday, September 4th at 6:00pm

Pre-registration is $60 per team or $40 for high school teams. The name used to register is the name we’ll call when picking the genres. Only one registration form per team required. To register complete this form and make your payment at the link below:

Open category payment link:
OPEN
High school student link:
STUDENT
Or hit us up on Venmo @omahafilmfestival

Here’s how it works: Start putting your team together now. Actors, writers, filmmakers … get ready. For participating teams, fill out the online registration form and send your entry fee to be qualified and be watching on our YouTube Channel as we announce the following required challenges:

  1. We will announce a LINE OF DIALOGUE that will have to be in every film.
  2. We will announce a PROP that must be used in the film.
  3. We will randomly draw GENRES from a bucket for each team that your film must adhere to.

There’s no age limit on the filmmakers and let’s keep our content under PG13 so a broader audience can enjoy the screenings.

After the screenings we will be announcing the winners for both the student and open categories for:
Most Creative Use of Required Prop
Most Creative Use of Required Line of Dialogue
Best Cinematography
Best Film

Thank you to our friends at FiberFirst for providing cash prizes!
$500 – Best Film
$250 – Best Use of Required Prop
$250 – Best Use of Required Line of Dialogue
$100 – Best Student Film
$100 – Best Use of Required Prop – Student Category
$100 – Best Use of Required Line of Dialogue – Student Category

THE RULES

– Entry Fee must be paid at least one hour before the launch.

– Each entry must be a separate submission – you must include registration form and payment for each submission.

– Challenge Launch will commence at 6:30pm on Friday, September 4, on the OFF YouTube Channel.

– You must complete all of the mandatory challenges (genre, line of dialogue, prop).

– All submissions must be an H.264 file sent to omahafilmfestival@gmail.com via a password protected (downloadable) Vimeo link, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. The FILM INFORMATION FORM must also be emailed.

– Submissions must be received by 7:00pm on Sunday, September 6.

– All films that are not in English must have English language subtitles.

– Only submissions with completed REGISTRATION FORM, FILM INFORMATION FORM, and paid entry fees will be accepted.

– Films must be no longer than 5 minutes in length (including credits).

– To be eligible, the film cannot have a public screening locally prior to the Film Challenge Screening date. We ask that your film not be viewable in its entirety online on sites like YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook before the Film Challenge Screening. Trailers or clips from the film are acceptable.

– Releases for locations, music, and talent must be obtained by the submitting filmmaker. The Omaha Film Festival is not liable for copyright infringement or unauthorized use.

#OFF202648

Results from the 2026 OFF

Screenplays:

Best Feature Screenplay – The Pale Ones by Sara Caldwell
Best Feature Screenplay Honorable Mention – Yosemite by Daniel Talbott
Best Teleplay – The Back End by Daniel Gessner & Kyle Campbell
Best Teleplay Honorable Mention – Time of Your Life by John McGuigan
Best Short Screenplay – Mistakes by John McGuigan
Best Short Screenplay Honorable Mention – Look to the Stars by Dylan Kaufman

Films:

Best Feature Film – Bonding by Victoria Trofimenko
Feature Film Honorable Mention – Do Us Part by Reed Arnold
Best Documentary – Uvalde Mom by Anayansi Prado
Documentary Honorable Mention – 25 Cats from Qatar by Mye Hoang
Best Short Film – Ado by Sam Henderson
Short Film Honorable Mention – Pocket Change by Tanner Mobley, Heston Roewe
Best Animated Short Film – 113 Words for You Today by Bo Qing Tang, Xiao Lan Zeng
Animated Short Film Honorable Mention – All Heart by Michael Govier, Will McCormack
Best Nebraska Short Film – Documentary – Healing Ribbons, One Stitch at a Time by Margaux Towne
Nebraska Short Film Honorable Mention – Documentary – OCon: An Event for Everyone by Amanda Trudell
Best Nebraska Short Film – Animated – Bunny and Bear by Christine Burright, Matt Geiler
Nebraska Short Film Honorable Mention – Animated – Game Over by Jack Bone
Sponsored by UNO College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media:
Best Nebraska Short Film – Narrative – Patina by Jake Hull
Nebraska Short Film Honorable Mention – Narrative – Bullock by Karl Yanike
First Annual Ian Snyder award: Cody Jones

Audience Choice Awards:

Audience Choice Short Film – Chapter 21 by Katie Stoneburner, Ellen Burling
Audience Choice Documentary – Magic & Monsters by Norah Shapiro
Audience Choice Narrative Feature Film – Magic Hour by Jacqueline Christy