72 Hour Shootout Theme Announced: Joyful Resistance

NEW YORK - June 2, 2022 - PRLog -- The Film Lab announced the theme – JOYFUL RESISTANCE - of its 18^th annual 72 Hour Shootout filmmaking competition (the "Shootout") in a virtual Launch Party organized by Film Lab's 72 Hour Shootout coordinator, Ariel Urim Chung.  The Film Lab focused the 2022 Shootout on issues pertaining to mental health awareness, at the suggestion of longtime Shootout judge Antony Wong.    Chung congratulated filmmakers on using action and art to fight mainstream Hollywood racism, stating, "I envision this year's shootout to celebrate the small and big joys despite the challenging year we had, nourishing our community with narratives that acknowledge the difficulty yet shed light on the hope."

The theme – Joyful Resistance - upon which all the films must be based "invites our filmmakers to play with creating joy from conflict and to discard negative feelings and energy and instead use positivity to empower themselves to, almost ironically, fight for what they believe in and to construct that fight as something from which they can take pride and joy, instead of hurt and pain," explained actor and Film Lab President Jennifer Betit Yen.   Gregory Cendana, a Shootout sponsor and a board member of the Asian Mental Health Collective, also gave welcoming remarks to the filmmakers.

The Shootout is a worldwide filmmaking competition celebrating gender and ethnic diversity in film in which filmmaking teams are given this common theme at the start and have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and complete short films up to five minutes in length. Teams compete for industry mentorships, cash, prizes, and exhibitions.

The Shootout creates opportunities for underrepresented filmmakers, with a focus on Asian Americans, to demonstrate their talent, gain exposure in the entertainment industry and create positive significant impact on the visibility of underrepresented stories and characters in film and television.  More information at www.film-lab.org (http://www.asianamericanfilmlab.com/72-hour-shootout/) and https://www.facebook.com/72hrshootout.

About the Film Lab
The Film Lab is a non-profit 501(c)(3) headquartered in New York City that provides film and tv productions, filmmaking workshops and competitions, readings and screenings, and other free or low cost programming to promote and support ethnic and gender parity in film and television and to connect members of the general public with stories, faces and voices often underrepresented in mainstream media.  For more: www.film-lab.org. Social @AsAmFilmLab #72HrSO