# 168 Film Project
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{{Infobox Film festival
| name = 168 Film Project
| image = 168FilmProject.png
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| location = [Fayetteville, Georgia](/source/Fayetteville%2C_Georgia)
| founded = 2003
| awardsreceived =
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| films =
| directors = John David Ware
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| website = [http://www.168film.com/ 168film.com]
}}
The '''168 Film Project''' is a [Christian](/source/Christian) film festival. Worldwide, over 1500 short films have been produced for the competition since 2003.[{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-01-la-me-beliefs1-2010mar01-story.html|title=A film festival for the faithful|last=Morris|first=Naomi|date=1 March 2010|work=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)|access-date=2 March 2010}}]
168 is a [501(c)(3)](/source/501(c)(3)_organization) nonprofit corporation.
== History ==
The 168 Film Project (sometimes styled 168 Hour Film Project) was launched in 2003 by filmmaker and producer John David Ware in [Burbank, California](/source/Burbank%2C_California). Its inaugural edition screened thirteen shorts created in the single-week production challenge.[{{cite news |last=Wiebe |first=Chris |title=Film festival isn't averse to the Bible |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-xpm-2008-04-14-gnp-festival14-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Glendale News-Press |date=14 April 2008 |access-date=30 July 2025}}] By its seventh edition in 2009 the festival had adopted the annual theme “Family Business,” and organisers reported a growing slate of eleven-minute shorts drawn from randomly assigned Bible verses.[{{cite news |last=Rudolph |first=Joyce |title=Well-versed films |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/news/tn-blr-xpm-2009-03-28-gnp-168film28.1-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Burbank Leader |date=28 March 2009 |access-date=30 July 2025}}]
The eighth edition in 2010 drew more than sixty-five submissions from sixteen U.S. states and five continents. Ware, described as having “worked with filmmakers worldwide,” estimated that over 300 films had already been produced through the initiative.[{{cite news |last=Charky |first=Nicole |title=Well-versed in the art of making movies |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/news/tn-blr-xpm-2010-03-20-gnp-168film032010.1-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Burbank Leader |date=20 March 2010 |access-date=30 July 2025}}]
At the ninth festival in 2011, themed “Second Chances,” ninety shorts competed for twenty-one awards and more than US$15,000 in cash prizes.[{{cite news |last=Rudolph |first=Joyce |title=Second chances help win awards |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-xpm-2011-04-05-tn-gnp-0406-awards-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Glendale News-Press |date=5 April 2011 |access-date=30 July 2025}}] That year the short ''Useless'' won the top prize.[{{cite magazine |title='Useless' Gets Useful at 168 Competition |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/2011/04/useless-gets-useful-at-168-competition/ |magazine=Christianity Today |date=20 April 2011 |access-date=30 July 2025}}]
By 2014, organisers estimated that alumni had produced more than 800 shorts, with some screening at other international festivals and some advancing into feature-length development.[{{cite web |title=168 Film Festival |url=https://www.georgiaproduction.org/event-details/168-film-festival-2 |website=Georgia Production Partnership |date=4 November 2022 |access-date=30 July 2025}}] The festival would change location to New City Church in [Fairburn, Georgia](/source/Fairburn%2C_Georgia) in 2024,[{{cite news |title=168 Film Festival Winners 2024 |url=https://www.168film.com/news-events/168-film-festival-winners-2024 |access-date=February 7, 2026 |work=168 Film}}] and then Harp's Crossing Church in Fayetteville since 2025.
{{Cleanup section|date=July 2025|reason=Should this be here? potentially shall be removed}}
Hollywood participants include [Zachary Levi](/source/Zachary_Levi) (''[Shazam!](/source/Shazam!_(film))'', ''[Shazam! Fury of the Gods](/source/Shazam!_Fury_of_the_Gods)'', ''[American Underdog](/source/American_Underdog)''); [Candace Cameron Bure](/source/Candace_Cameron_Bure) (''[Full House](/source/Full_House)''); Academy Award winner [Louis Gossett Jr.](/source/Louis_Gossett_Jr.); four-time Emmy Award winner [Michael Learned](/source/Michael_Learned) (''[The Waltons](/source/The_Waltons)''); [Max Gail](/source/Max_Gail) (''[Barney Miller](/source/Barney_Miller)''); actor and director [Corbin Bernsen](/source/Corbin_Bernsen) (''[Major League I & II](/source/Major_League_(film))'', ''[Psych](/source/Psych_(TV_series))''); actor and director [Kevin Sorbo](/source/Kevin_Sorbo) (''[Let There Be Light](/source/Let_There_Be_Light_(2017_film))'', ''[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys](/source/Hercules%3A_The_Legendary_Journeys)''); T. C. Stallings (''[War Room](/source/War_Room_(film))'', ''[Unbridled](/source/Unbridled_(2017_film))''); producer [Howard Kazanjian](/source/Howard_Kazanjian) (''[Raiders of the Lost Ark](/source/Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark)'', ''[Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi](/source/Star_Wars%3A_Episode_VI_%E2%80%93_Return_of_the_Jedi)'', ''[Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back](/source/Star_Wars%3A_Episode_V_%E2%80%93_The_Empire_Strikes_Back)''); producer [Ralph Winter](/source/Ralph_Winter_(producer)) (''[X-Men](/source/X-Men_(film_series))'', ''[Fantastic Four](/source/Fantastic_Four_(2005_film))'', ''[Star Trek](/source/Star_Trek_(film_series))''); and co-creator [David McFadzean](/source/David_McFadzean) (''[Home Improvement](/source/Home_Improvement_(TV_series))'').{{cn|date=July 2025}}
Past 168 sponsors include [Sony BMG](/source/Sony_BMG), [Sony Pictures](/source/Sony_Pictures), [Canon](/source/Canon_Inc.), [Arri](/source/Arri_(company)), [Sony](/source/Sony) BPC, [Sony Affirm](/source/Affirm_Films), [Panasonic](/source/Panasonic), [Kino Flo](/source/Kino_Flo), [Roland](/source/Roland_Corporation), [Panavision](/source/Panavision), [Regent University](/source/Regent_University), [Biola University](/source/Biola_University), ''[Church Production](/source/Church_Production)'' and ''[Worship Technology Magazines](/source/Worship_Leader)''.{{cn|date=July 2025}}
==Format==
Participants receive a randomly selected Bible verse and have ten days of pre-production to develop a screenplay, cast actors and secure locations. Principal photography and post-production must then be completed within exactly 168 hours (seven days), and the finished film may not exceed eleven minutes.[{{cite news |last=Tchekmedyian |first=Alene |title=Filmmakers aspire to capture faith |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/tn-blr-me-168project-filmmakers-capture-faith-20140603-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Burbank Leader |date=3 June 2014 |access-date=30 July 2025}}] Each annual cycle revolves around a unifying scriptural theme—for example “Atonement,” “Family Business” and “Second Chances”—against which entries are judged for their “scriptural integration.”