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Mark Boscariol 48-Hour Flickfest

Mark Boscariol 48-Hour FlickFest

Tickets

What's On, November 2025

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sCREENING & AWARDS CEREMONY

fRIDAY, OCTOBER 31 – 8:20PM
oLG PENTASTAR THEATRE – CAPITOL

BUY TICKETS

2025 flickfest challenge dates

Friday, sept 19-21, 2025 – 7:00pm

#MB48HFF2025

Download FlickFest Team Package

Named in honour of WIFF founder, Mark Boscariol, the 48-Hour FlickFest consists of a slate of short films shot and edited by local filmmakers and film lovers over one weekend. FlickFest is an intense, movie-making challenge. Supplied with randomized filmmaking elements to include, filmmakers are given 48 hours to submit their film. This is a juried competition with over $1,300 in prizes and the screening includes award presentations for eight awards. This challenge is accessible to any individual that wants to test their inner filmmaker.

“The end of the film, is the beginning
of the conversation”

– Mark Boscariol

Jury Panel

PETER KUPLOWSKY

Lead Programmer, Midnight Madness; International Programmer, US Indies, TIFF

Peter Kuplowsky is a film curator, producer, and writer based in Toronto. Since 2005, he has championed genre and underground cinema at various international film festivals, including Toronto After Dark, Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas), and the Toronto International Film Festival, where he currently leads its popular Midnight Madness section. Ever passionate about filmmakers who work outside mainstream channels, Peter is also the founder and president of Low Sky Productions, an independent film development company. His producer credits include In A Violent Nature, The Void, Psycho Goreman, The Artifice Girl, Climate of the Hunter, Country Gold, Every Heavy Thing, Mangoshake, Camp, and the reboot of Roger Corman’s Deathstalker. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Cinema Studies Institute, Peter is internationally recognized for his enthusiastic introductions to cult film audiences and his oft-tossed fedora.

ANIKO KASZAS

Actress & Stunt Performer

Aniko Kaszas is a Toronto based actress and stunt performer. Born in Budapest, Hungary, she spent the first decade of her life continent hopping with her family, finally settling in Canada. She has worked in the Canadian Film and TV industry for over 20 years, both in front of and behind the camera. Her short film, Cat’s Got Your Tongue premiered to rave reviews at WIFF in 2022, and she’s been a fan and supporter of the festival ever since. Aniko is currently working on a documentary about breast cancer treatment innovations (keep your eyes peeled!) and continues to fall down professionally, most recently working as a stunt woman on “The Testaments” (the sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale”). She’s excited and honoured to be a judge for the Mark Boscariol 48-Hour FlickFest this year and looks forward to seeing all the films!

ERIN CREASY

Director of Industry Development, Ontario Creates

Erin Creasey is Director, Industry Development, at Ontario Creates, where she oversees investment programs for the film, TV, books, magazine, interactive digital media sectors, that support development, production, marketing, and business development activities, international business initiatives, and industry development. Previously, Erin was Director, Sales and Marketing at ECW Press, and is a past president of the Association of Canadian Publishers.

Prizes

Download FlickFest Team Package

FAQ

It’s your chance to stop talking and start filming!

The premise? Filmmaking teams have just one weekend to make a short film.

All creativity, such as writing, shooting, editing, must occur within a 48-hour window beginning Friday evening at 7 p.m. and ending by Sunday at 7 pm.

The registration fee for the entire team is $25 CDN. Registered teams will receive instructions on how to e-transfer the team fee.

Each team will be given a prop, and a line of dialogue, and a character. Everything else is up to you.

Films submitted on time will be eligible to be shown at the Mark Boscariol 48-Hour FlickFest screening and awards ceremony on a future date during the Windsor International Film Festival. All films will also be available for viewing on WIFF’s YouTube channel. The number of films selected for the Mark Boscariol 48-Hour FlickFest screening will depend on the number of films submitted and their run times.

The Mark Boscariol 48-Hour FlickFest is open to all filmmakers, pro and novice alike. All team members (crew and cast) must be volunteers.

The films must be short, a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 5 minutes, excluding 20 seconds max of credits.

The event will be promoted through the Internet and social networking sites (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram), and good ol’ fashioned word of mouth.

A panel of judges will consist of filmmakers, actors, film critics, and (or) producers.

Judging Criteria:

  • Artistic Merit (e.g., Story, Creativity, Entertainment Value) (60%)
  • Technical Merit (40%)

Your team is responsible for securing all technical equipment. WIFF does not provide any gear. Filmmaking can be done on your DSLR, digital camera, smartphone, tablet, webcam or virtually. Anyone can be a filmmaker, but you have to figure out how!

  • Any resident of Canada, the United States, or around the world can compete.
  • At least one team representative must attend the virtual kickoff on Friday, Sept. 22 at 6:45 p.m.
  • You must submit your final film link to FlickFest coordinator by Sunday, Sept. 24. Deadline is at 7 p.m.
  • Everyone must volunteer to be a part of the film.
  • The FlickFest is open to all skill levels, from novice to seasoned professional
  • The finished film must include all of the required ‘FlickFest Elements’, and be within 1 to 5 minutes in length, credits not included.

Yes, you may secure locations, cast/crew, equipment and music before the challenge begins however all other aspects of the film including: writing, wardrobe, props, shooting, editing, and effects must be completed within the 48-hour time period. This must be followed and is strictly enforced.

7 p.m. EST on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, is the cut-off for the competition. Time management is the defining principle of this contest.  No sob stories of any kind will be accepted. Please get your film in within 48 Hours because we hate seeing people cry and because real filmmakers take in consideration the time it takes to compress video for the web, as well as Vimeo uploading and processing time. Your film will not be taken into consideration for the competition if it misses this deadline.

FlickFest elements are the specifics that you must incorporate into your film. These elements can include a line of dialogue, a prop, character traits, character jobs, character names, genre or any combination of each. You will be judged on your ability to creatively incorporate these elements into your story in a seamless fashion. Each team will work within the same constriants.

There are not restrictions for the amount of team members each team can have. Use all the bells and whistles you like to make the best film possible. As long as it is finished in 48 hours and follows all Flickfest rules.

No, stock footage is not permitted. All of your film elements (excluding music) must be made within the 48-hour time period.

Yes, you can, but you must get them to sign a release form granting you permission to use their music.

Technical Requirements

Your film must be submitted on Google Drive or via a secure Vimeo link. Ensure your media is not corrupted!

Title Card requirements of Mark Boscariol 48-Hour FlickFest

Your film must be within 1-5 minutes not including credits.

Credits must be under 20 seconds

You may shoot on any format with any device – DV, HD, HDV, .mov, .mp4 etc.; however, your finished film must be submitted on Google Drive or on Vimeo with a secure link.  No exceptions. Films not submitted on Google Drive or Vimeo will not be screened or considered for competition.

Yes, you can.

Yes, see Rules and Regulations!

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