TWO DAYS, NO SLEEP Get updates

● A filmmaking marathon · San Francisco + Oakland

Make a movie
in two days.
See it on
the big screen.

Friday night you get your genre. Sunday night your film is due. A couple of weeks later, you watch it on the big screen with a packed house. That's Two Days, No Sleep.

Get notified when registration opens How it works

● Season one

San Francisco

SPRING 2027 / THE ROXIE

Dates announced soon

● Season two

Oakland

FALL 2027 / THE GRAND LAKE

Dates announced soon

● How it works

One weekend. One film.
Zero sleep.

  1. Friday · 6:30 PM

    Call Time

    Doors open at the bar. At 7:00 sharp, the whole room hears the character, prop and line at once. Then each team draws its genre at random, and the clock starts.

  2. Friday night → Sunday

    Write. Shoot. Edit.

    Everything creative happens inside the window: script, casting, shooting, cutting, sound, music. Coffee is not provided but is strongly recommended.

  3. Sunday · 7:30 PM

    Picture Lock

    Your finished film is uploaded. Done. Nowhere to be but your editing chair. Then, please, go to sleep.

  4. 1–2 weeks later

    Premiere Nights

    Every film plays on the big screen at the Roxie (SF) or the Grand Lake (Oakland), in front of a crowd that actually came to see it.

  5. The finale

    The Wrap

    The awards party. Every award is revealed, Audience Awards included. Drinks, cheering, mild heckling. Someone goes home with The Insomniac for Best Film.

● The Call Sheet

Four things your film
has to have.

At Call Time, every team gets a Call Sheet. Everything on it has to show up in your film before the end credits roll. You don't know what's on it until Friday night, which is the whole fun of it.

Everyone in your city gets the same character, prop and line. Your genre is the one thing that's yours alone: drawn at random, written in by hand, no trades.

That's an example sheet. Your real one arrives at Call Time.

CALL SHEET TEAM: ___________
Genre
Film Noir DCDrawn at Call Time. One draw, one genre.
Character
Dee Alvarez, night-shift locksmith
Prop
A single roller skate
Line
“I said I'd be home by Sunday.”
CLOCK STARTS NOW

● The prize

No pipeline. No algorithm.
Just your film, on the big screen.

The Roxie's red neon ROXIE sign glowing at night in San Francisco's Mission District
The RoxieSan Francisco · Spring
The Grand Lake Theatre's lit marquee at dusk, reading Oakland's Historic Movie Palace
The Grand LakeOakland · Fall

Photos: The Roxie by Simon Durkin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Grand Lake by Daniel Ramirez, CC BY 2.0. Both resized.

A real theater

Most short films live and die on a phone screen. Yours plays at the Roxie, one of the oldest cinemas in the country, or the Grand Lake, a 1920s Oakland movie palace. That's the prize. Trust us, it's enough.

Your film is yours

We don't take the rights to your film. You own it, full stop. We just ask to screen it and share it to promote the festival. Sell it, submit it elsewhere, put it on your reel. Go nuts.

Bragging rights

There are awards for Best Film, directing, writing, performance and craft, plus an Audience Award voted by the crowd each night. No contracts. No "exposure." Just a trophy and a room full of people clapping.

● Now casting: you

Start forming
your team.

First-timers, film-school kids, wedding videographers, people who've been meaning to make a movie for ten years. All welcome. Phones are cameras. Your roommate is an actor now.

  • Producers
  • Writers
  • Actors
  • Editors
  • People who own a camera
  • People who own a phone
  • People who make good coffee

● FAQ

Questions, answered.

Do I need real equipment?

You need a camera. Your phone is a camera. Next question.

How long should the film be?

3 to 6 minutes, plus up to 45 seconds of end credits. Everything else is in the rules.

Can we write the script ahead of time?

Nope. You can line up your crew, cast, gear and locations before Friday, but anything creative waits until Call Time. That's the game.

Can we use AI?

Not to make anything. No AI scripts, music, images, voices or footage. Every performer has to be a real human. Cleanup tools like noise reduction and color correction are fine.

Can SAG-AFTRA actors be in our film?

We don't have a union agreement, so SAG-AFTRA members can't act in Two Days, No Sleep films. They're welcome behind the camera.

Where do the winners go next?

Onstage, to collect a trophy. That's it. That's the point.

How much does it cost?

Team registration fees will be posted when registration opens. Follow us on Instagram or TikTok and you'll hear first, early-bird pricing included.

● Registration opens soon

Don't sleep on it.

Follow @twodaysnosleepfest to hear about registration, early-bird pricing and Premiere Night tickets before anyone else.