Despite the daunting challenges of last month’s One-in-24 Film Festival at NYU Shanghai, perhaps the greatest was staying awake to make the film itself.

The annual event, organized by the school’s film club 24 Frames, drew 55 student participants, whose blood, sweat, and tears culminated in 10 films premiered to 123 audience members. A panel of five NYU Shanghai professors and visiting scholars selected the award winners.

But this wasn’t just any college film festival. Students were only given 24 hours to write, film, and edit the entire movie, each needing to be between three to 12 minutes long.

This year’s theme was “disconnection,” and every film was required to feature an apple. Despite these restrictions, the genres covered ranged from drama, thriller, and romance to crime, and indie.

“It’s really interesting to watch how the ideas of disconnection and apples have been made into different kinds of films,” said Zihan Jiang, president of 24 Frames.

Five out of the 10 films took home awards, many earning two.

Best Film was tied between In Passing, a drama illustrating the demands of work, family, and friendship, and Absolution, a psychological thriller exploring the guilt following a friend’s suicide. In Passing also took home Best Screenplay.

Best Directing went to Jason Liu, a senior in Interactive Media Arts, for The Contract. Tushig Bataa of DisConnected earned Best Performance—remarkably, Bataa later revealed he improvised the entire film.

Neither Here nor There, which depicted the draining monotony of corporate life, received Best Creativity. For Audience Choice, viewers voted in a three-way tie between Absolution, The Contract, and DisConnected.

“I went into it without big expectations, but I was pretty confident that we would win something,” says Eddy Ji, a producer of Absolution. “I was really proud of the work we did.”

While the winners’ hard work eventually paid off, their greatest feat was the most unexpected: staying awake to make the film itself.

Siilen Badral, director and co-editor of DisConnected, revealed the all-nighter she pulled. “I did not sleep,” she states matter-of-factly. Ji shared the same experience: “I stayed awake for, like, 20–21 hours.”

Though exhausting, this challenge was the most rewarding. “It was an adventure,” Ji reflects. “These projects are experiences that I want. I want to make everything, experience everything.”