Make a short documentary in 48 hours! ​
The Rules:
  1. Take any 48-hours to film and edit your documentary. (This is on the honor system!)
  2. Documentary must be no longer than 4 minutes.
  3. Be sure you own all rights to the images, sounds, and music included in the film, or have permission to use the content that you did not create or you can justify the inclusion of content under fair use.
  4. Submit your work by 11:59 pm on Thursday, February 6, 2026.
  5. All submitted work will be screened on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
  6. Please note that the Advisory Board reserves the right to decline screening of any work that promotes or supports hate speech, discrimination, or harmful actions.
  7. All are welcome to participate!
  8. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect, it simply has to be done over 48-hours!
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Insights on creating a timed-challenge Documentary
with example from Jeremy Sarachan

1) What's a 48-Hour Film Challenge?

A 48-hour film festival is an opportunity for documentary filmmakers in Rochester to produce a film in a short amount of time and enjoy the satisfaction of a completed work that doesn't take forever to finish. Specifically, filmmakers have to commit to capturing all footage within a 48-hour period. They can spend as much or as little time editing as they wish, before the deadline.

2) How did you come up with the idea of the 48-Hour Film Fest?

24-hour plays are commonplace in the theater world--Writers and Books sponsors one each year for the Rochester Fringe Festival (and I've participated in several of these events). Equivalent festivals also exist in the film world, and the 48 hours lets our filmmakers expand the possibilities and topic a bit.

3) What did you learn from doing a film in 48 hours?

Doing a film in a short amount of time required me to focus on one idea and simplify the production to one location at one time. The limitations were freeing in that I couldn't get distracted by following different paths (and rabbit holes) and had to remain faithful to telling a story concisely.

4) What do you hope the community will get from this fest?

I hope this festival, as sponsored by Roc Docs, will encourage folks to pick up their camera and make a film! It doesn't need to be great, or perfect. And it gives us an opportunity to celebrate creativity and community.

5) Can you share your film and why you picked this topic? 

I made the film in about 27 hours (including shooting and editing) as part of a class at the Maine Media Workshops. We were encouraged to be experimental, play with the soundtrack, and think about metaphors. Rockport and Camden are wonderfully scenic and at first I thought about documenting a hike, before I decided that walking up a mountain with all my gear didn't sound particularly appealing. It was pointed out that you could drive to the top, which I did, and then I realized that lots of (mostly older) folks were also driving to the top. In editing, the film became this sort of experimental treatise on aging and getting to a summit anyway. Letting the footage I gathered tell me what to do was part of the fun.

​Editing quickly forces you to trust yourself and not think too much about whether an edit is perfect.  Sometimes the most inspired moments can come out of this.
Example of a limited-time challenge Documentary
Click on image below to download pdf to share with your community!