119
How It WorksExample FilmMake Yours
119:00
SIMUL-MAKE
Public Domain · Free Forever
The clock starts when you do.
Anyone can make a 119. No budget. No credits. No permission needed. The format is already yours — we just give you the bones.
See the 8 rules →
Make Your Own 119
Your film. Your world.
The template, the steps, and a writing companion. Everything needed to unveil a 119.
Why This Challenge Exists
Because creativity thrives under pressure.
Because Hollywood forgot how to have fun.
Because when you stop second-guessing and start writing, you realise the story was waiting for you all along.
Because a 119 by Nolan looks nothing like a 119 by Tarantino. Or yours.
The Foundation Template
Copy this into Celtx, Final Draft, or any text editor and start writing.
Copy Template
Title: [YOUR TITLE] Credit: A 119 Minutes Challenge Film Author: [Your Name] --- FLASH CARD COMPLIANCE CHECK: [ ] Runtime exactly 119:00 [ ] Clocks visible in every frame [ ] Marty has a missing watch [ ] Anomaly 1 at Tᵣ = 88:00 (Tₑ = 31:00) — clocks slow [ ] Intermission at Tₑ = 59:30, exactly 119 seconds [ ] Anomaly 2 at Tₑ = 107:00 — clocks speed up [ ] Awkward 2-minute overhang at Tₑ = 117:00 [ ] Final smash cut at Tₑ = 119:00 --- INT. [YOUR WORLD] — [TIME] [Your opening scene. A clock must be visible within the first 15 seconds. Introduce MARTY — obsessed with time, missing his watch. Show the tanline. The audience must feel his fixation before the end of Act I.] --- RUNTIME GUIDANCE: Act I: 0:00–31:00 (Tᵣ 119:00–88:00) Act II: 31:00–107:00 (Tᵣ 88:00–12:00) Act III: 107:00–119:00 (Tᵣ 12:00–0:00) Intermission: 59:30–61:29 (exactly 119 seconds) Anomaly 1: Tₑ 31:00 Anomaly 2: Tₑ 107:00 World "ends": Tₑ 117:00 Smash cut: Tₑ 119:00 --- [Write your film here.] [Your Marty. Your world. Your 119.]
How To Make Your 119
01
Choose your style
Comedy, horror, western, anime, musical, sci-fi — the format works in any genre. Pick yours.
02
Follow the Flash Card
Eight non-negotiables. They are the bones. Meet all eight and you've made a 119. Everything else is creative freedom.
03
Build your Marty
Marty is the name from the base template — use whatever name fits your world. He's the comedy engine: obsessed with time, missing his watch, always right, never believed.
04
Design your clocks
Analog, digital, chalk drawings, HUD readouts, shadow sundials, phone lock screens. Doesn't matter. But they must always be on screen.
05
Plan the anomalies
Anomaly 1 at Tₑ 31:00. Anomaly 2 at Tₑ 107:00. Pre-plan your visual language for both before you shoot. Your editor will thank you.
06
Nail the intermission
Exactly 119 seconds. Marty has gone to pee. Loud offscreen peeing sounds. Muzak. Awkward characters. Put a burn-in timer during edit to lock it.
07
Stick the landing
Your film must smash cut at exactly 119:00. If runtime creeps, trim from interstitial breath before 117:00 — never from the final two-minute gag. The gag is sacred.
08
Release it
This is a public domain challenge. Share it. Anyone can make a 119. The more versions that exist, the better the joke gets.
Script companion · Live now
ScriptBuddy
A writing companion built for the 119 Minutes challenge. It knows the rules, tracks your Tᵣ, and places the anomalies. Think of it less as a tool and more as someone who shows up to the session and doesn't let you stop.
Open ScriptBuddy →
Make your 119.
Release it.
Share it.
Compare it.
The runtime doesn't lie.
119 Minutes
A public domain filmmaking challenge
How It WorksExample FilmMake Your Own
Simul-Make
A release architecture framework
Read the framework →
Runtime doesn't lie.
Two frameworks. One domain.