Game on! Film Lab’s 20th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition

Registration has officially opened for the Film Lab’s 20th annual 72 Hour Shootout filmmaking competition, celebrating and empowering underrepresented voices and stories

MARCH 1, 2024 — Registration opened today for the Film Lab’s 20th Annual 72 Hour Shootout (“Shootout”) filmmaking competition, which will take place in early June.

Filmmakers began registering online at Film Lab for the global event designed to promote gender and racial parity in entertainment media and to empower emerging female filmmakers and filmmakers of color, particularly Asian Americans.

Judges include Marci Phillips (VP, Casting for ABC Primetime), Jandiz Cardoso Estrada of Sundance, Antony Wong (Program Coordinator at the Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI) of The City University of New York (CUNY), Daniel Sakaya of Crossings and more.

Shootout teams compete for film festival and television exhibition, mentorship from top executives at major networks, cash, and other prizes.

Filmmakers of the top 10 films have the chance to screen their films at the prestigious Asian American International Film Festival, the only festival of its kind on the East Coast. The Shootout creates opportunities for filmmakers of color and women, particularly Asian Americans, to demonstrate their talent, gain exposure in the entertainment industry and create positive significant impact on the visibility of Asian and Asian American stories and characters in film and television.

Says Francis Chin, lawyer and competition co-coordinator with Eklan Singh, “over the last two decades, the 72 Hour Film Shootout has been crucial for AAPIs looking to explore filmmaking, offering a practical platform to express their voice and creativity. Having led several teams myself, the Shootout has honed my skills, particularly as an editor, while allowed me to test the waters in other roles. The three days of intense focus with my cast and crew created lifelong bonds and memories, as well as admiration of what other teams have accomplished when their films debut.”

“The Shootout is more than a filmmaking competition; it creates career altering mentorships, exposure and networking opportunities,” says Film…