Their “Curveball” in hand, 16 teams of filmmakers will scatter across Renton this weekend to create short films with the city as their backdrop.

The Fourth Annual Renton FilmFrenzy starts at 5 p.m. today (Friday) when filmmakers are e-mailed their Curveball, a line of dialogue, location or specific task they must incorporate into their four-minute film.

For the next 50 hours they will write, shoot and edit their films.

Cloudy and rainy weather has been another curveball thrown at the filmmakers the last two years; the same weather is forecast for this weekend, too. Last year 18 of the 25 competing teams actually submitted a film for judging.

If the weather is again stormy, organizers may consider moving up the dates for the competition.

This year, 16 filmmaking teams, including seven in the student division and nine in the open division, have signed up to compete. Seven teams are returning from past competitions, which the city’s economic development director is pleased to see.

“To me that says a lot that we are running a fun well-managed competition,” said Suzanne Dale Estey. “We have a strong base to build upon in future years.”

But the competitors are almost entirely based in Renton, which tells Dale Estey “we still have a lot of work to do to make this a regional draw.”

New this year is the chance to see all the films. The 16 films will screen Monday, Oct. 24, at the Renton Civic Theatre. Filmgoers will vote for a separate award that evening. The next night, Tuesday, Oct. 25, the top films will be screened at the Renton FilmFrenzy Curvee Awards Gala at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center.

The Downtown FilmTalk is Wednesday, Oct. 26, during which filmmakers will talk about their films at various locations downtown. The Renton Reporter will again host the online voting for the People’s Choice Award.