reported by Betty Paulsino, CyberScreenwriter.com

On Saturday, July 7th, hundreds of Toronto filmmakers will compete to create an original short film in just 12 hours, from noon to midnight. They will be taking part in the first Toronto Film Race, part of the nationwide Film Racing Tour, which will visit more than 10 cities in 2007.

At exactly 11:59AM on July 7th, filmmakers will be assigned a theme for their film. Past examples of themes include revenge, bad advice and spare change. The teams must write, shoot and edit an original short film, no longer than 4 minutes and submit their films 12 hours later by the midnight deadline. All completed films will premiere for the public a few days later at a local theater. The top films from the Toronto Film Race will compete for thousands in cash and prizes, against top films from each of the cities on the 2007 Film Racing Tour.

The Film Racing Tour is organized by NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, LLC, an organization that has been holding unique film-centric competitions since 2002. NYC Midnight is dedicated to creating events that challenge and inspire creative minds, with a continual focus on introducing a new wave of talented storytellers to the world of independent filmmaking. "Film Racing is improv for filmmakers," says competition director, Charlie Weisman. "With digital technology, creative minds, and a little inspiration, anything is possible...even with only 12 hours to work. The Film Racing Tour is our most challenging event to date and we are very excited to see the films that come out of Toronto."

The 2007 Film Racing Tour recently wrapped up competitions in Boston, New York, Miami and Minneapolis, and will be visiting additional cities including Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, and Toronto. Sponsors of the Film Racing Tour include Writers Boot Camp, OurStage, Avid, Toon Boom, Friendster, Final Draft, and Jungle Software. The entry fee is $75 US per team and space is limited in each city. Visit the official competition website at www.filmracing.com to register, learn more and watch winning films from past events.