The competition began in
Washington, D.C., in 2001. It was created by Mark Ruppert and is produced by Ruppert and Liz Langston. In 2009, nearly 40,000 filmmakers made around 3,000 films in 76 cities across the globe. After the 48 hours of filmmaking are complete, each city screens all the competing films, and a jury subsequently vote on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best films. Most cities also give out awards to their films in several categories, including directing, writing, and acting; an Audience Choice award is sometimes voted on as well, by the audience of the screenings in each city. The film that wins 1st place goes on to represent their city at
Filmapalooza—a festival that features "best of" screenings of the winners from each city. Filmapalooza is hosted by a different city each year. The most recent Filmapalooza, in 2023, was held in
Los Angeles, United States of America. ==Related competitions==