Asian American Film Lab Announces Top Ten Films of 8th Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout

July 30, 2012 - PRLog -- New York, NY – July 29, 2012 – The Asian American Film Lab (AAFilmLab) screened the top ten films of the Eighth Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout (“Shootout”), yesterday afternoon at the Asian American International Film Festival, under the auspices of and in collaboration with Asian CineVision.  AAFilmLab’s first female president, Jennifer Betit Yen, began the ceremony by thanking the filmmakers and film fans for their support of ethnic and gender diversity in film.  She explained, “[t]he 72 Hour Shootout is about empowerment.  It provides filmmakers with the opportunity to seize 72 hours within which to tell virtually any story they want in virtually any way they can imagine.  The filmmakers [who participated in the Shootout] took control over their own stories.  They became independents instead of dependents, leaders instead of followers, creators instead of mainstream mimics.  Every single one of them deserves accolades for stepping up to the plate and daring to tell their stories.  In doing so, they said, ‘we are not ‘the other.’  We will not be marginalized.  We will not be silenced.’”  

Photographs from the event:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3027854155029.1...

The awards were as follows:
1) RiLL - Distance
Grand Prize Sponsor:  Margaret Lam
2) Jong-IL - Maybe Baby*
3) ROMIX Productions - Doggie Style*
4) ColorTV - The Buy
5) Zen Station - The Test
6) OZ - BC
7) T.C.B.Y. - Jacob
8) Fluffy Bunny - Dealbreakers
9) Mintcheerios - Early Adopter
10) Spring Street Pictures - Evaluation
BEST ACTOR:   Billy Khang in ROMIX's Doggie Style
BEST ACTRESS:  Mallory Wu in ZEN STATION's The Test
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:  RiLL, Distance
BEST DIRECTOR:  OZ, BC
Prize Sponsor:  Executive Wear NY
BEST SCREENWRITING:  COLOR TV, The Buy
MOST ORIGINAL:  DAYSIDE PRODUCTIONS, Fight for Love Game Show
Prize Sponsor:  Executive Wear NY
BEST EDITING:  RiLL, Distance

New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) winners consist of:
1. Samantha Chance, producer, Cjec Blocks, Pillowed.
2. Barbie Leung, DP and Editor, Cjec Blocks, Pillowed.
3. Louise Chen, Producer, Athena, This is Only a Test.
4. Toy Lei, Team Captain, The Ex-New Yorkers, The Wedding.
5. Judy Lei, Co-Captain, Zebra, The Escapist.

The Shootout films can be viewed via the following link:
http://www.asianamericanfilmlab.org

DVDs can be ordered online at http://www.asianamericanfilmlab.org

Judges for the Shootout included Marci Phillips, executive director of casting at ABC Primetimes, Producer Teddy Zee, actors Brian Yang, Michelle Krusiec, acclaimed cinematographer Eric Lin, and Russell Simmons, named by Forbes Magazine as one of “Hollywood’s Most Influential Celebrities” and, by USA Today, as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years,” calling him a “hip-hop pioneer” for his groundbreaking vision.

RiLL, the team behind the Grand Prize winning film, Distance, released the following statement, "[O]n behalf of RiLL Films, James Z. Feng, Nick Louie, and James Y. Shih would like to thank the Asian American Film Lab for a great competition this year.  This year's 72 hour shootout was both a great challenge and an incredibly rewarding experience for the team. The project gave the crew some incredible filmmaking moments, such as guerilla filmmaking in public locations and avoiding the authorities at the airport"..."[T]hank you all for a great festival and for supporting the Asian American voice in film."

Thank you to venue sponsors:  The White Rabbit and M Lounge at Megu.

The Shootout is a worldwide competition in which filmmaking teams are given a common theme at the start and then have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and complete short films up to five minutes in length.  The competition creates a valuable opportunity for Asian American filmmakers to demonstrate their talent, gain exposure in the entertainment industry and impact the visibility of Asian American stories and characters in film.

Upcoming Film Lab Events
Workshop of Gordon Mathieson Screenplay (Sept. 6)
Gordon’s adapted film script THE COLOR of ICE will be hosted by the Asian American Film Lab in New York City on September 6th ( http://www.gordonmathieson.com/Author_Bio.php )  Join us for our seminal Unfinished Works program, in which professional actors perform a table read and the audience is invited to workshop the script for the writer under the direction of Film Lab management team member, Jean Goto, who will be utilizing the Liz Lerman Technique.  The reading will take place at AAARI-CUNY in midtown New York City, and will be free to attend.  Please RSVP to jean@film-lab.org.  Gordon Mathieson writes with passion, intrigue and, most importantly, a spirit of greater understanding between the Asian and non-Asian communities. The driving force behind The Color of Ice, his latest tale, was and is to highlight Chinese and Chinese American characters in contemporary, non-traditional or stereotypical roles. He also visualizes this novel as a film. Quite simply, Mathieson believes this novel has screen potential for showcasing Asian American actors in a new and fresh way previously unseen either in prose or film format. It is an opportunity for young, talented Asian American actors to delve into roles previously deemed commercially and aesthetically uninspiring and often relegated to a producer’s slush pile. Mathieson hopes to change all that, and with only 5 main characters in the story—4 Asian and 1 American. He also hopes Hollywood will take notice.
A prolific writer, Mathieson is preparing to launch his next literary project in the young adult genre: The Becky Bing mystery series Hook Island and Summer Games. Each will feature Becky Bing, a 16-year-old Chinese American. She is a “modern-day Nancy Drew” stumbling across serious crimes she must solve on her own. Becky, a high school junior, is smart, confident, edgy, feisty but also compassionate. As with The Color of Ice, the Becky Bing series emphasizes the Chinese culture and Chinese language where appropriate; educating and enlightening readers about Asian Americans embedded in a good story.
Screening of Meghna Damani Film (Oct. 25)