THE FINISH LINE

Houston Futures Film Race

THE FINISH LINE Houston Futures Film Race

BEFORE YOU SUBMIT

Take a few minutes to check your film.

Runtime

Your film may be up to 5:00 minutes, plus up to :30 additional seconds for end credits only.

Maximum total runtime: 5:30

Opening titles count toward the five-minute film runtime.

Challenge Elements

Make sure your film includes both required challenge elements:

THE LINE
“That’s So H-Town.”
The line must appear as spoken dialogue.

THE LANDMARK
Your film must recognizably feature at least one of the three Race landmarks:

TSU Tiger Walk
UH Cougar in front of TDECU Stadium
Blessing Theater at Emancipation Park

AI Disclosure

If your team made substantive use of generative AI, be prepared to identify the tool or platform, what material was generated or substantially modified, and how it was incorporated into your film.

Credits & Permissions

Make sure your credits are complete and that your team has the rights or necessary permissions for the material included in your film.

  • Keep making the film.

    Films submitted after the 6:00 PM CT deadline may be accepted during the 24-hour late submission period ending Sunday, September 13 at 6:00 PM CT.

    Late films may still be reviewed and considered for screening at Houston Futures Fest, but late submissions are not eligible for juried awards or prizes.

    So if the clock beats you—

    finish the film anyway.

  • After submissions close, films will move through technical and eligibility review and then to judging.

    Selected filmmakers will be notified on September 24.

    Selected films will premiere publicly on October 3 at Houston Futures Fest.

    You have spent 48 hours imagining Houston's future.

    We can't wait to see what you saw.

THE FINISH LINE

Houston Futures Film Race

THE CLOCK IS RUNNING.

You imagined it.
You wrote it.
You shot it.
You edited it.

Now it's time to cross the finish line.

Your completed Houston Futures Film Race film is due:

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 @ 6:00 PM CENTRAL TIME

Your film must be fully uploaded and your official submission form successfully submitted by 6:00 PM CT to be considered on time.

HOW TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE

STEP 1 — EXPORT YOUR FINAL FILM

Watch the final exported file, not simply your editing timeline.

Check your picture, sound, credits, runtime, and challenge elements.

STEP 2 — UPLOAD YOUR FILM

Upload the final film to your team's cloud storage.

Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or another reliable cloud-storage service is fine.

STEP 3 — TURN ON SHARING

Your film link must be accessible to the Houston Futures Film Race team without requesting permission.

Test the link in a private/incognito browser before submitting it.

STEP 4 — SUBMIT THE OFFICIAL FORM

Complete the Houston Futures Film Race Submission Form and provide the link to your final film.

Your film must be fully uploaded to your cloud storage, your sharing permissions must be enabled, and your Houston Futures Film Race Submission Form must be successfully submitted by 6:00 PM Central Time on September 12 to be considered on time.

SUBMIT YOUR FILM