The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will debut some of the most creative short films from central Arkansas filmmakers as it hosts the screenings of the Little Rock 48 Hour Film Project.

The UA Little Rock School of Literary and Performing Arts is serving as a sponsor for the 48 Hour Film Project. The premiere screenings of the project will debut at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, in the University Theatre in the Center for Performing Arts on the UA Little Rock campus.

After all the films are screened on Sept. 10, local awards will be handed out at the Award Ceremony Screening at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, in the University Theatre. Both events are open to the public. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

This annual summer event is an international competition taking place in more than 150 locations in more than a dozen countries worldwide. The project gives local filmmakers of all ages the chance to produce a film over the span of 48 hours that will be screened in a theater in front of a live audience, an opportunity that few filmmakers experience.

Central Arkansas filmmakers and their crews met at The Public Theatre in Little Rock for the 48-hour film weekend kickoff event Aug. 26. Team leaders chose a strip of paper from a hat, which revealed one of 30 genres that decides what type of short film they made over the weekend. Teams had until Aug. 28 to plan, write, shoot, and edit their short film.

Something new to this year’s event is a social media contest, where teams were encouraged to create behind-the-scenes shorts for TikTok that showcase the making of their 48-hour films.

The best overall film will win a ticket to compete at the 2023 Filmapalooza festival in Los Angeles. The winner of that festival will have the opportunity to screen their film at the Cannes Film Festival as part of its Short Film Corner.