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Frugal Film Challenge

The Frugal Film Challenge is a bi-annual event for the frugal, low budget, spare-every-expense filmmakers out there!

Two times per year we supply teams from around the world with a script, a few rules, and it's up to them to create the best film they can.

After an online screening of all the films, the films are judged by a panel of professional filmmakers. From there, the top 3 teams will win a number of different prizes to help on their filmmaking journeys.

The top film from each round will also go on to the big screen at a live film festival somewhere in the world. The last one was in NYC.

How it works

It's a lot like a 48 Hour short film challenge except we send you the script and we give you a little more time to perfect your movie.

  1. Anyone* can join, just sign up.
  2. You get sent a script to adapt and film.
  3. You get 1 week to plan, film, edit, and submit.
  4. You get a chance at amazing prizes for the top 3 films.
  5. You get to show off your new short film to the world!

*Anyone 18 or older can join unless legally prohibited by your home country. If you're younger than 18 you will need permission of a parent or guardian.

The script

Yes, each team leader is sent a script to adapt and film. This is what makes the Frugal Film Challenge stand out. One of the big hurdles for many filmmakers is figuring out what to make a movie about. We eliminate that detail. Everyone gets the same script for the current season. It's a lot of fun to see how everyone interprets and adapts the same source material!

The prizes

Each season we have a bunch of different prizes for the top 3 jury prize winners. It can fluctuate season to season what the prizes are, but we always aim to have awesome and useful prizes to help you on your frugal filmmaking journey!

In the past this has included subscriptions to software, music licensing, filmmaking books, subscriptions to streaming services, and a top prize of having your short film screened at an international film festival somewhere in the world.

Frugal Filmmaking

Frugal filmmaking means something a bit different for everyone. And that's okay! We design our stories to be filmed anywhere in the world with any equipment. If you have a camera or can borrow one (even just a mobile phone) you can join in! Use what you have available to you: beg, borrow, scrounge, adapt, innovate! (please don't steal).

The next competition

We will announce the next festival soon. Sign up for BTKO Films to get updates on the next Frugal Film Challenge!