Houston, Show Us Your Future: The Houston Futures Film Race Is On
48 Hours. Five Minutes. Imagine Houston’s Future.
What does the future of Houston look like?
That is the question at the center of the inaugural Houston Futures Film Race, a new filmmaking challenge presented by the Center for Africana Futures as part of Houston Futures Fest.
From September 10–12, filmmakers, students, artists, and community storytellers from across Greater Houston will have just 48 hours to imagine, write, shoot, edit, and submit an original five-minute film exploring Houston's future.
The challenge is simple:
You have 48 hours to show us Houston’s future in five minutes.
And we want to see what Houston imagines.
One City. Many Futures.
The Houston Futures Film Race begins with a question rather than an answer.
What might Houston become? What should it become? Who gets to imagine that future? What happens when we ask the people who live, learn, work, create, and build community here to put their visions on screen?
Those visions might be hopeful, unsettling, funny, speculative, deeply personal, or completely unexpected.
Science fiction. Documentary. Comedy. Horror. Romance. Animation. Experimental film. Musical.
Any genre is welcome.
The Race isn't about who has the biggest budget or the most expensive equipment. It's about storytelling, creativity, and what you do with what you have.
30 Teams. 90 Filmmakers.
Thirty teams will take the starting line, with spaces divided among three Houston-area cohorts:
10 Texas Southern University teams
10 University of Houston teams
10 Third Ward Cultural District & Community teams
The Third Ward Cultural District & Community cohort welcomes high school students, community and independent filmmakers, and students from colleges and universities throughout Greater Houston and the surrounding region.
Each team consists of exactly three registered filmmakers:
Writer/Director • Director of Photography • Editor
Additional actors, sound professionals, composers, production assistants, designers, and other collaborators are welcome to join the production, but the three registered filmmakers form the official Race team.
The Clock Starts September 10
The Race begins with a live virtual kickoff on Thursday, September 10th at 6:00 PM CT.
That's when participating teams will receive two required challenge elements.
Then the clock starts.
Teams will have until Saturday, September 12th at 6:00 PM CT to create and submit their films.
Everything specific to the competition film—from the story and script to principal photography, editing, sound, and final film—must be created during the official 48-hour Race window.
Watch Houston Imagine
After the Race, films will move into review and judging, with storytelling, creativity, and vision at the center of the evaluation.
Selected films will premiere on October 3 at Houston Futures Fest, bringing these different visions of Houston's future together on screen.
Over time, the Houston Futures Film Race is also an invitation to create something larger: a growing record of how Houstonians imagine their city and its possibilities.
One year. One Race. Thirty teams.
And potentially dozens of different futures.
Registration Is Free — But the Starting Line Is Limited
Registration for the inaugural Houston Futures Film Race is FREE, but only 30 team spaces are available.
Registration closes Wednesday, September 9th at 6:00 PM CT, or when all available team spaces are filled.
Visit the Houston Futures Film Race Starting Block to learn more, read the Official Rules & Terms, and register your team.
