The 5th Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout will commence at 8pm, Friday, June 20, 2008 - for 72 hours straight! Details for this year’s contest online soon.

THE BEACHHEAD: APA SHORTS MAKE THEIR LANDING

The AAFilmLab and The ImaginAsian will be screening short films created by members of the AAFilmLab as well as a new face or two this THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006, 7:30PM - and the filmmakers are going to be looking for some support. This is the first in a series of screenings that The ImaginAsian has graciously offered to co-sponsor in order to get these films screened and to have our voices heard and we'd love to show them just how much we want our work to be shown in this city. Buy tickets online - http://www.theimaginasian.com/nowplaying/index.php?cid=900&date=20060413#100000468 and save some money or come straight to the theater this thursday and spread the wealth. The AAFilmLab proceeds will go towards more events like these as well towards the Script Competitions we hold each year (the winner of the first competition will be showing his short).

Most importantly, all you filmmakers who'd like a chance to screen your film at New York's premier Asian American movie theater, come to the screening to catch a few Asian American shorts, chat with the filmmakers during the Q&A, then submit your work to be considered for the next screening to be held at The ImaginAsian theater. We're waiting for more work and you know you deserve to be up there too.

FILMS:
"Factory"
At first glance Factory appears to depict the daily life of a typical factory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When we look more closely however we don't see clothes and sneakers but instead rubber feet and steel joints. Factory shows how Cambodians are working to address their country's legacy of war, poverty and landmines amidst one of the largest amputee populations in the world. ::Sonya Rhee:: Currently a producer of ethnographic films for Ogilvy & Mather, Sonya Rhee's previous documentary, which she co-directed and co-produced, Soldados: Chicanos in Vietnam, aired nationally on PBS as part of POV's program for 2003 and 2004. The film is currently archived at the Library of Congress as part of the Veterans History Project.

"J.J."
"The first time I saw her..." An unidentified woman narrates a dreamlike encounter she has with a girl. ::Jae-Ho Chang:: Jae-Heo received a BFA in Film/Video/Animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. He is currently attending NYU Graduate film school. He lives with his cat Hans Schmoozer in Manhattan.

"Mirror, Mirror"
::Colin Justin Wan:: Hailing from Singapore, Colin has been pivotal in making events such as these at the AAFilmLab become reality. He is currently an active member in good standing.

"ManHang"
::Hyunsuk Kim:: A member of AAFilmLab's All-Star International Cast, Hyunsuk, who originally hails from Korea, guides the AAFilmLab into discovering and conquering the path where art lives.

"Paper Dogs"
::Matte Chi:: Dropped from the sky and tossed from the sea, Matte is determined to take root upon this earth. Matte was born in Korea and raised in Queens.


EVENT DETAILS
THE BEACHHEAD: APA SHORTS MAKE THEIR LANDING
THURS, APRIL 13, 2006
7:30PM
The ImaginAsian Theater
59th Street (btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave)

Last night’s script contest turned out to be a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking test of wills. The result is a testament to the power of the written word to change people’s minds and we hope, their lives.

Three contestants, each with their own distinctive styles took their turn trying to convince, seduce and reason with their peers that their script was the one which the AAFilmLab will have the pleasure of co-producing. In the end, after two dead-heat ties and some further deliberation, the democratic process, and the power of the Asian American filmmaking people prevailed.

As such, without further ado, and with unfettered pleasure, the AAFilmLab would like to announce the winner of the FALL 2005 script competition:

Jane Valentine

Congratulations goes to Jane and to the other contestants, Nelson Wang and Lawrence Wong for conceiving and completing their scripts. Finally and most of all, the AAFilmLab would like to thank everyone for letting us read their work. We hope to see everyone back at the Lab soon, because the work has only just begun.

We’re please to announced the AAFL Script Contest for Fall 2005. If you’ve got a 10 page screenplay you’ve been working on, or just need an excuse to write one here you go. We’ve made up some guidelines to help you contain that explosive talent into an actionable short film. There’s a small submission fee, and the winner gets to take it all for their budget. On top of that, the AAFilmLab will put up some funding for the film as well.

The AAFilmLab will help produce three short films this upcoming season. The script contests are designed to help us find that all too important content for the films. The point of the films is to give hands on experience to workshop members as well to create a showcase product for your work.

Contact us with any questions or come to the next meeting (8/24). The Guidelines are below:

AAFL Screenplay Contest Guidelines – Fall 2005

[IN PDF - 34MB]
Contest Overview

The Asian American Film Lab (AAFL) is producing short films to accomplish the dual purposes of providing valuable training for their members and to generate content for festival and media submissions. AAFL expects to begin preproduction on their first film in Fall 2005.

All films start with a script. AAFL has determined that to develop competitive films is to obtain the best scripts available. To that end, the AAFL is conducting a screenplay contest whereby the winning script will be produced by AAFL members.

Contest Guidelines

1. The Fall 2005 Deadline is: September 7, 2005. Bring your script into the workshop on this day. There is a submission fee of $15 per entry (one entry per person). The submission money will be added to the winning script’s production budget. Scripts should be no longer than 10 pages. Scripts must be formatted in standard screenplay format.
2. Writers may only have one winning script per season (annual).
3. Submitted scripts will be read by everyone in attendance at the workshop meeting. Writers will also be asked to present a 1 minute pitch for their script or sing a song of the president’s choosing (the 1 minute pitch is highly recommended). The winner will be selected through a democratic peer election process. The writer of the selected script has the option to direct or to choose a director.
4. Keep the budget within the range of $300 - $700. The AAFL will provide some initial funding for the winning script. We don’t expect you to know how to decipher production values for your script. However, some things to keep in mind are that period scripts, special effects laden scripts, and epic scripts (think Pearl Harbor, Titanic, Lord of the Rings or any later Spielberg film) represent high production values which means lots of money. Try to stay with New York-based locations and simple present-day stories with smaller casts.
5. Along the lines of budget considerations, please keep the production contained within one or two weekends.
6. Scripts should adhere to MPAA guidelines for PG-13 or below ratings (PG, G). We’re not trying to enforce moral standards here. However, explicit sexual content may limit our talent choices when we’re casting and explicit violence starts to affect budget – see Guideline 4. The MPAA Ratings guidelines can be found at the mpaa website: http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/about/index.htm
7. Absolutely no scripts requiring live firearms (or firearms in public), squibs, stunts, fire marshals, explosives and other potentially dangerous safety-intensive plot devices. The legal and safety requirements associated with firearms, stunts, explosions, etc. increases the budget beyond our range. Even if we somehow stayed within budget, we cannot afford the administrative overhead.
8. No scripts requiring children. Again, the legal requirements associated with children exceed our budgetary and administrative capabilities.
9. Stay clear of animal characters and the associated headaches.
10. No copyrighted intellectual property (film, newsreels, TV shows, music, soundtrack or lyrics). Exceptions granted to those screenwriters who have obtained at MINIMUM festival rights for the intellectual property. Evidence of your rights ownership MUST BE SUBMITTED with your script.
11. No exotic locations. Public safety offices (police and fire stations), penal facilities, transit infrastructure, landmarks and public parks are all exotic locations from the budgetary and administrative perspective. Given the security requirements of our terror-inflicted world, even “free” locations such as a subway station is much more difficult to get permission to film in. But if you have the location in your pocket, then by all means use it.
12. AAFL members will be given first priority for cast and crew. Once cast and crew are selected, they are expected to attend workshop meetings to update the AAFL about the progress of the film and most importantly, to share their experiences.

We just finished the Film shootout Promo.  Compiled in 72 hours!…

About.

We wanted to give you guys a little taste of what is possible in 72 hours!  As soon as we compress and put up here, you can check it out!  If you are interested in being a part of other opportunities, come out to our workshops and activities!