Developed from the US-based 48 Hour Film Project, which was run in Auckland in 2003, 48Hours has been running as a New Zealand-only event since 2004, with regional competitions organised in 8 cities and regions around New Zealand: Auckland, Hamilton, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
The event was founded by Anthony "Ant" Timpson and is organised by Ness Patea and Ruth Korver.
There is a launch event on Friday night of the shoot weekend, where each team is given a randomly selected genre.
Teams must deliver their finished film to the competition organisers by the Sunday evening to be eligible for prizes, although late deliveries will still be screened in the heats.
Every year teams are given a number of compulsory elements to help ensure that film has been wholly created on the shoot weekend.