Several local teens participated in an “18-hour film project” at Maya Cinemas in Downtown Bakersfield Thursday.

Students from the Kern High School District were given 18 hours to make a complete film. They were broken in to teams and each assigned a character, film genre, prop, and a line of dialogue that must appear in their film.

A red carpet style premiere was held for the finished projects and cash prizes were awarded.

The project’s mission was to inspire students to pursue their film-making dreams.