Greensboro and Asheville area filmmakers are getting ready to take on one of the toughest challenges in the industry - create, shoot, and edit a short film (for the competition, between four to seven minutes) all within one weekend.

Spots are still available for both the Greensboro and Asheville competitions.

In Greensboro, film teams will gather this Friday, June 24, at 6 p.m. at the Greensboro School of Creativity to find out their genre as well as what required elements must be part of the short. The film teams will then drop-off their entries on Sunday evening. Screenings for the Greensboro competition will be June 29 at 7 p.m. and June 30th at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at the Carousel Cinema, located at 1305 Battleground Avenue, in Greensboro. Tickets for the screening sessions are $10. This marks the 8th straight year that the Gate City has hosted a 48-hour competition.

Next month, teams in Asheville will gather Friday, July 15th at 6 p.m. at Asheville Pizza & Brewing’s Downtown location (77 Coxe Avenue) to learn their genres and required elements. Completed shorts will be submitted once on Sunday, July 17th. Screenings of the Asheville shorts will take place July 19-21 at 4, 7 and 10 p.m. Early bird registration rates are still available at $140 and must be submitted by Monday, June 27. After that, registration is $160 until July 7 and $175 July 8 and after-if space is available. The Western North Carolina Film Commission is one of the sponsors of Asheville’s competition. 2011 marks the 7th straight year that the “Land of the Sky” has hosted a 48-hour competition.

Winning films from both competitions will go on to compete against films from other 48-hour winners from around the world. A total of 55 48-Hour Film Competitions are scheduled this year in the U.S. and an additional 47 international events are scheduled.

To find out more information about The 48 Hour Film Project, click here.