Once again, local movie makers and aspiring directors will be given 48 hours to shoot, edit and finish a short film and have it ready to show for Benicia Public Library’s 48-Hour Mini Film Festival.

But there’s a twist.

This time, said Teen Services Librarian Brandi Bette Smead, the contest is taking place during the school year.

That’s because for the first time, it’s part of the Benicia Reads program, which this year has focused on the book “The Maltese Falcon.”

Competitors in the filmmaking contest, presented by the library and the Teen Advisory Board, must wait until 3 p.m. Friday to learn the three elements they must include in their film.

They must then turn the finished product in at the Benicia library by 3 p.m. Sunday.

It’s a tight shooting and production schedule. Participants have little time to incorporate those three elements — a prop, a line and a location — into a film that must be scripted, shot and trimmed to no more than five minutes in the equivalent of two days.

But that’s the point of the competition.

Like runners waiting for the sound of a starter’s pistol, participating filmmakers must wait until the library announces those elements before they can begin.

Smead said that is how the library and the Teen Advisory Board assure that competitors don’t get a jump on the contest’s 48-hour window.

To get those mandatory elements, people can call the library, 707-746-4343, stop by the library at 150 East L St., or look for the three elements Friday afternoon on the library’s website, www.benicialibrary.org, or on the Teen Advisory Board Facebook page, Smead said.

Then the race is on to see who can meet the five-minute maximum running time limit, as well as the 3 p.m. Sunday deadline.

Films must be transferred onto DVD for showing, Smead added, and they must be appropriate for all ages.

Completed films turned in at the library must be accompanied by a submission sheet that provides the film’s title, the competitor’s name and contact information and the film’s credit list of participants, as well as a summary of the movie.

In the past, the three elements have been tied to a theme, such as the library’s birthday, when the mandatory prop was a birthday cake.

Past competitors have had to incorporate the “Star Wars” line, “May the Force be with you,” into their films, and were required to include a shot of the library’s fountain.

Smead wouldn’t even hint at what this year’s trio of elements would be. Her only clue was that they wouldn’t be any from the past half-dozen years the library has organized the contest.

However, there is a tie between the movie contest and this year’s Benicia Reads subject, the 1930 Sam Spade detective novel by Dashiell Hammett.

That’s deliberate for several reasons, Smead said.

In the past, the contest took place in summer, with anywhere from three to eight films entered. Organizers have wondered whether summer vacations and other activities drew potential participants away. Tying the film contest to Benicia Reads potentially means more participants.

The change also gives filmmakers the opportunity to be inspired not only by the Hammett novel but also by the 1941 noir adaptation directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart as Spade. Organizers are hoping to see some of that inspiration in the entries, Smead said.

The contest is open to all ages, divided into three groups — children, teens and adults. However, the competition is wide open rather than judged by age, Smead said.

The top award could go to any entry, she said, and in the past adults, teens and even youngsters have produced the best film.

Smead said she hasn’t gathered prizes, but past awards have been gift certificates and Benicia “Downtown Dollars,” to winners and first runners-up.

The library will ask participants’ permission to show their films at other library programs and on Benicia’s public access television channel. Staff also will ask participants to make additional copies so the films can be checked out by library patrons.

Those who prefer not to agree to those terms will be competing on equal footing with those who do, but their films only will be shown at the 48-Hour Mini Film Festival.

The films will be shown at 6 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Doña Benicia Room of the Benicia Public Library. “Don’t come late,” Smead said. “Five minutes is the length of a film!”