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July 13, 2008

72 Hour Film Shootout Awards

Finally, a little down time to document the past couple of days spent at Asia Society! As I mentioned in my last entry, I am currently in New York attending the 31st Asian American International Film Festival. As welcomed by the festival directors here, I have made Asia Society my second home. I had the pleasure of watching many great films and I can't wait to see some of the films that will be screened this week.

A little shameless plug before I dive into some of the films: I've met many people in New York who asked me about purchasing a copy of Hyphen. Well, I am happy to announce that the Asia Store at the Asia Society will be carrying the latest issue of Hyphen throughout the duration of the festival. So you have until Monday, July 21st to drop by the store to get your copy, or hey, subscribe today and Hyphen will be delivered right to your door step!

Back to the topic at hand. As some of you may recall, Hyphen is a proud sponsor of this year's 72 Hour Film Shootout, presented by the Asian American Film Lab. Coincidentally, the 72 Hour Film Shootout Awards is also a part of the film festival. So today, I attended the awards to take an eager peek at what this year's 5-minute power film is all about. The theme this year was "A First Goodbye" and I was curious to see how original the contestants could get.

I was really impressed with a few of the films that I saw . Having shot a short film myself back in the days, I know how hard it is to have a plot, assemble the actors, secure the locations, shoot, and edit the damn thing by a certain deadline (oh how I miss thee, the all-nighters). Of course, not all stories have to be epic but still, to be able to do all of that within 72 hours is very impressive. So regardless of whether your team won an award or not, I applaud all of you filmmakers who participated this year and the organizers for this opportunity.

With that said, I'd like to share a few of the short films that really captured my attention during the awards.

I thought the following two clips were done very well, overall. And by overall I am talking about the plot, the acting, the cinematography, the editing, and all that jazz.

- Cinemasia - Say Goodbye

- Last Minute Films - Killer Headline

The following clips get an honorable mention from me because they were so silly and funny.

- Vision - Say Good-bye

- 4Ward Motion Films - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

Finally, the grand prize winner. Even though I enjoyed the short, I wish I could've known how the winner was picked. Watch the clip and let me know what you think.

- Big Egg - No Holding Back

For all the films mentioned above and to see the top 10, go to the 72 Hour Film Shootout website over on Ningin and tell me which team YOU would've given the first prize to.

If you haven't caught a flick yet, be adventurous. Check out this year's festival program, grab a friend, and come!

This blog entry is graciously sponsored by Toyota Matrix. Check out their Director's Chair website dedicated to the best in Asian American film.

Posted by lisalee at July 13, 2008 7:29 PM