Organizers of a unique new film festival are giving aspiring movie makers just 24 hours – or slightly less than 1500 minutes – to create movie magic.

The McMaster 24 Hour Film Fest starts Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the Lyons New Media Centre, located on the fourth floor of Mills Memorial Library.

Filmmakers will be given a line of dialogue, a prop, a location and just 24 hours to create a five-minute film,

Amie Sheppard, who’s completing her thesis in multimedia at McMaster, is part of a team entry in the competition. She says she’s looking forward to the challenge of creating a film in just one day.

“We’re going to show up Friday, they’re going to tell us what to do and we’ll go from there,” she said. “I think it will be a lot of fun, and it will also be a great portfolio piece when we’re finished.”

The top ten films will be screened at a gala to be held at the Citadel Hamilton Theatre and Performing Arts Centre, and industry judges will select the top three films to be awarded prizes.

The competition is modelled on the Hamilton 24 Hour Film Festival, which is the largest of its kind in North America.