The Adrenaline Film Project, a staple of the Virginia Film Festival since 2004, will again be featured as the event celebrates its 25th anniversary from Nov. 1-4 in Charlottesville.

The festival is presented by the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Each year, the Adrenaline Film Project gives a dozen teams of filmmakers the chance to write, cast, shoot, edit and screen an original short film – all in just 72 hours.

The event culminates in a competitive screening at U.Va.’s Newcomb Hall Theater, during which the audience votes for its favorite films. Awards are also handed out from a jury of Virginia Film Festival mentors that includes festival guests, and often high-profile Hollywood producers and filmmakers.

The Adrenaline Film Project was founded and has been led for the past eight years by filmmaker and Charlottesville native Jeff Wadlow, who is unable to attend this fall, as he is in production on his upcoming Universal Studios feature, “Kick Ass 2.” However, Wadlow helped hand-pick U.Va. alumnus and longtime Adrenaline veteran Romulo Alejandro and director Derek Sieg, whose critically acclaimed debut film “Swedish Auto” opened the 2006 Virginia Film Festival, to lead this year’s edition.

“As much as I hate missing this 25th anniversary celebration, I feel like ‘Adrenaline’ is in rock-solid hands,” Wadlow said. “In Rom, you have someone who knows the Adrenaline Film Project from every angle, having participated as a filmmaker, mentor and technical director, and who has enjoyed award-winning success as a filmmaker himself. And Derek Sieg is an incredibly talented filmmaker who can bring so much to the table from his already impressive career."

Sieg said he is excited about the idea of returning to his home turf.

“I literally grew up coming to the Virginia Film Festival, and it had a lot to do with inspiring me to become a filmmaker myself,” Sieg said. “So I am really excited about coming back to work with the Adrenaline participants this year.”

Alejandro said filmmakers and teams should expect the same combination of talent and energy they’ve come to know and love. “More than anything else, Adrenaline is all about the passion these participants bring to the table,” he said. “Our job is to encourage and channel that passion.”

The Adrenaline Film Project provides exciting opportunities on both sides of the camera, Alejandro said. “This is a great chance for actors from throughout Central Virginia to get valuable experience in front of the camera, and to get an abbreviated sense of what the filmmaking process is all about,” he said. “Anybody who has participated will tell you actors are a huge part of Adrenaline’s success.”

The process begins Oct. 30, from 7 to 10 p.m., with an “Actors Meet and Greet” in Newcomb Hall’s main lounge on the third floor. The teams gather again for the official kickoff meeting on Oct. 31 at 5 p.m., at which point the clock starts on the 72-hour process. Each team must turn in the final cut of its film by 5 p.m. on Nov. 3 in advance of the screening later that evening.

Teams interested in participating in the Adrenaline Film Project can find the application and additional submission guidelines online here.

Applications are now available to filmmakers and are due Oct. 12 at 5 p.m. Teams will be notified of their acceptance on Oct. 19.

Applications may be delivered to the Virginia Film Festival’s office at 617 West Main St. in Charlottesville on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Materials may also be mailed to: Virginia Film Festival, ATTN: Adrenaline Film Project, P.O. Box 400869, Charlottesville VA 22904.

The 2012 Adrenaline Film Project is presented by the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia and supported by U.Va.’s Robertson Media Center.

Premier sponsors for the 2012 Virginia Film Festival are The AV Company, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau, Flow Automotive Companies, The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, Regal Entertainment and the Virginia Film Office.