Filmhack kicks off today in London.

London based advertising and PR agency M&C Saatchi has teamed up with Goldsmiths (part of the University of London) and YouTube to launch a 48 hour film challenge, following on from their 48 hour games challenge, Game5hack, earlier this year.

‘Filmhack’ – which will take place June 28-29 – will see 6 teams each making a short film in London based on the theme ‘How People Connect’, shot in ‘Dogme style’ using Motorola handsets.

The start and end points of each film will be linked so that all 6 films can be watched sequentially to tell a bigger story.

The teams, made up of M&C Saatchi employees and Goldsmiths film students, will be judged firstly on their film, then on how effectively it can be distributed and promoted on line, using free YouTube pre-rolls, social channels and ‘shameless blagging, borrowing and self-promotion to drive views.’

There is a £1,000 top prize for both categories.

Lisa Thomas, CEO of M&C Saatchi said: “We have a wealth of creative skillsets in the building, including film promotion expertise. This expertise, coupled with the fresh and talented film-makers of the future from Goldsmiths, as well as the mentoring from some of the best creative minds in the creative industries, is a powerful blend, and is guaranteed to produce some excellent films.”

The winners will be announced at Google HQ on July 20.

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