Lights, camera, action. An epic 50 hours of filmmaking is about to begin in Renton.

It’s Renton FilmFrenzy II, a filmmaking competition that stars Renton.

“The city is thrilled to be gearing up for another successful FilmFrenzy,” said Suzanne Dale Estey, the city’s economic development director.

“The long-term vision is that this becomes a destination film festival,” she said.

The filming starts Friday at 5 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. Sunday. During those 50 hours, the producers will have to write, shoot, edit and turn in a film of up to four minutes in length.

And that’s not all.

The filmmakers will receive an e-mail at 5 p.m. Friday that contains three Curveballs or challenges that each one will face. The challenges COULD include incorporating a line of dialogue, a task in Renton or a specific location in the city. And that’s exactly what happened.

Dialogue: “I used my CurveCard.”

Location: Downtown Renton Clock Tower

An object: Any one piece of public artwork from the City of Renton collection.

The prizes? A coveted Curvee trophy and some cash – plus the chance to compete in the People’s Choice award at rentonreporter.com. The awards are named in recognition of Renton’s “Ahead of the Curve” community marketing slogan.

So don’t be surprised if you see cameras at some of the city’s iconic locations, such as the Piazza, Liberty Park and Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park.

This is the second year for the competition. Last year, the winning film in the open division was “Finger of God,” a movie that began with a shot of a donkey’s behind. The producers have gone on to produce more short films using Renton as a backdrop.

This year, 24 teams have signed up, 13 in the student division and 11 in the open division. The lineup includes at least four professional filmmakers.

Last year, 11 films were entered in the contest.

The judges – three area filmmakers and one representative from the Renton Municipal Arts Commission – will judge the films next week.

The awards and cash will be handed out at the Curvee Awards Gala at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center at Renton High School. All films will be screened during the Downtown Renton FilmWalk 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Thursday, Oct. 29, at downtown locations, including Whistle Stop Ale House, Liberty Café, Armondo’s Café Italiano, Renton History Museum and DC’s Bar & Grill.

For more information, visit www.RentonFilmFrenzy.com.

The Renton Community Marketing Campaign sponsors FilmFrenzy.