This year, the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Shootout competition challenged filmmakers to explore the topic of beauty.
Lani Nelson, Sinovision Journal reporter.
SinoVision Journal reporter Lani Nelson went to a screening for the top ten films followed by a panel discussion with innovators in the industry and brings you the story.
The Film Lab, Time Warner and the APEX group hosted a special screening of films from the 2015 72 Hour Shootout that focus on mainstream constructions of beauty and their consequences at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015.
Lia Chang in Hide and Seek, A Bev’s Girl Film production. Photo: Bev’s Girl Films
Look Deeper: Beauty, Funny Faces, Bare, The Other Woman, Finding You, Put It On, Beautifully Something, Girl’s Knight, andour Bev’s Girl Films’ Hide and Seek were among the films screened.
Lia Chang and Garth Kravits in a scene from Hide and Seek. Photo: Bev’s Girl FilmsPanelists Blue Michael, Becky Curran, Lia Chang, Rick Guidotti and moderator Jennifer Betit Yen at a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo: Sinovision
I participated in the panel discussion that followed the screening about the societal implications of mainstream beauty images with Rick Guidotti, award winning fashion photographer and advocate for those with genetic differences; Becky Curran, SAG-AFTRA Coordinator for Equal Employment and Diversity; and Blue Michael, Model and Founder of Blue Michael Cosmetics, moderated by Jennifer Betit Yen, Actor and President of the Asian American Film Lab.
Panelists Becky Curran and Lia Chang at a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015.Award-winning filmmaker Lia Chang being interviewed after a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo: SinovisionAward-winning filmmakers Garth Kravits and Lia Chang being interviewed after a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo: Sinovision
Lia Chang is an award-winning filmmaker, a Best Actress nominee, a photographer, and the Arts and Entertainment reporter for AsAmNews.com. Chang recently received a Best Actress nomination at the 2015 Asian American Film Lab 72 Hour Shootout. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is a Scripps Howard New Media Fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, a Visual Journalism Fellow at the Poynter Institute for New Media and a Western Knight Fellow at USC’s Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age. She is the recipient of the AAJA 2001 National Award for New Media and the OCA 2000 Chinese American Journalist Award. Avenue Magazine named her one of the “One Hundred Most Influential Asian Americans”. She is featured in Joann Faung Jean Lee’s book Asian American actors: oral histories from stage, screen, and television. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and FebOne1960.com Blog.
Rick Guidotti, Becky Curran, Jennifer Betit Yen, Blue Michael, Daryl King and Lia Chang attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lil Rhee
The Film Lab, Time Warner and the APEX group hosted a special screening of films from the 2015 72 Hour Shootout that focus on mainstream constructions of beauty and their consequences, which was followed by a panel discussion and a networking reception at the swank Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015.
Panelists Blue Michael, Becky Curran, Lia Chang, Rick Guidotti and moderator Jennifer Betit Yen at a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by David T. Kim.
Look Deeper: Beauty, Funny Faces, Bare, The Other Woman, Finding You, Put It On, Beautifully Something, Girl’s Knight, andour Bev’s Girl Films’ Hide and Seek were among the films screened.
Lia Chang and Garth Kravits in a scene from Hide and Seek. Photo by Lia Chang
I participated in the panel discussion that followed the screening about the societal implications of mainstream beauty images with Rick Guidotti, award winning fashion photographer and advocate for those with genetic differences; Becky Curran, SAG-AFTRA Coordinator for Equal Employment and Diversity; and Blue Michael, Model and Founder of Blue Michael Cosmetics, moderated by Jennifer Betit Yen, Actor and President of the Asian American Film Lab.
Blue Michael, Becky Curran, Lia Chang, Rick Guidotti and Jennifer Betit Yen attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by GK
Time Warner Building. Photo by Lia Chang
Photo by Lia Chang
Jennifer Betit Yen, Roger Chu, Director, Corporate Human Resources at Time Warner, Inc., and Lia Chang at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Sandy Lee
Roger Chu, Director, Corporate Human Resources at Time Warner, Inc. at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Jennifer Betit Yen, Film Lab President and actor, at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
The Film Lab, Time Warner and the APEX group networking reception at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
72 Hour Shootout winners Toy Lei (BOXER), Grant Chang (FINDING YOU) and Lia Chang (HIDE AND SEEK) attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by GK
It was such a treat for me and my filmmaking partner Garth Kravits to have the opportunity to see our film, Hide and Seek on the big screen at the Time Warner Theater. We caught up with other 72 Hour Shootout filmmakers including Toy Lei (BOXER- Top Ten Film; Grand Prize Winner; Best Actress; and Best Action Film) and her team, Edmund Kwan and Diana Yanez, and Grant Chang (FINDING YOU- Top Ten Film; Best Actor, Best Director) and his team, Aimee Ng, Jake Manabat and Kerri Davidson at the reception.
Film Lab’s Ronan Cray and Youn Jung Kim (2015 72 Hour Shootout Coordinator) attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Film Lab’s Jennifer Betit Yen and Shirley N. Lew at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Hettie Barnhill, Lia Chang and Nyseli Vega attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Nick Sakai
Marisa Marquez and Jennifer Betit Yen attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
BOXER’S Diana Yanez, Edmund Kwan and Toy Lei attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Boxer by “The MFA’s” (Top Ten Film; Grand Prize Winner; Best Actress; and Best Action Film, Toy Lei) Photo by Lia Chang
Roger Chu, Sandy Lee, a guest, Peyton Worley Jennifer Betit Yen and Rick Guidotti attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
FINDING YOU’S Jake Manabat, Grant Chang, Aimee Ng and Kerri Davidson attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Finding You by “The Perfect Asian Pear” (Top Ten Film; Best Actor, Grant Chang; Best Director, Grant Chang) Photo by Lia Chang
Film Lab’s Huseina Sulaimanee, Chloe Jenkins, Nick Sakai and Ronan Cray attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Garth Kravits, Ashley Inguito and Jamie James attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Daniel Cho, Eugena Oh, Sandy Lee, Architect, Systems Development at Time Warner, Inc., Roger Chu, Director, Corporate Human Resources at Time Warner, Inc., Lia Chang, Marissa Martin and a guest attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015.
About the Asian American Film Lab
The Film Lab is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes ethnic and gender diversity through outreach, education and production. The Film Lab provides free or low cost programming ranging from screenwriting workshops to panels to seminars to screenings. The Film Lab produces the television series “Film Lab Presents” and a wide variety of online content on AAFL TV. The Film Lab management team consists of Jennifer Betit Yen (President and Board Member, founder of AAFL TV Production Arm), Huseina Sulaimanee (Treasurer and Volunteer), Daryl King (Secretary and Board Member), Cecilia Mejia (Unfinished Works), Youn Jung Kim (2015 72 Hour Shootout Coordinator), Nick Sakai (Industry Spotlight), along with a dedicated Board, interns and event volunteers. Board members include James Kyson, Ed Wong and Aaron Woolfolk, among others. www.asianamericanfilmlab.com
Peyton Worley, Christopher Bourne, Jennifer Betit Yen, Roger Chu, Director, Corporate Human Resources at Time Warner, Inc., Lia Chang, Sandy Lee, Architect, Systems Development at Time Warner and Rick Guidotti attend a special screening of 72 Hour Shootout films and panel discussion at the Time Warner Theater in New York on October 7, 2015. Photo by Diana Yanez
Lia Chang is an award-winning filmmaker, a Best Actress nominee, a photographer, and the Arts and Entertainment reporter for AsAmNews.com. Chang recently received a Best Actress nomination at the 2015 Asian American Film Lab 72 Hour Shootout. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is a Scripps Howard New Media Fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, a Visual Journalism Fellow at the Poynter Institute for New Media and a Western Knight Fellow at USC’s Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age. She is the recipient of the AAJA 2001 National Award for New Media and the OCA 2000 Chinese American Journalist Award. Avenue Magazine named her one of the “One Hundred Most Influential Asian Americans”. She is featured in Joann Faung Jean Lee’s book Asian American actors: oral histories from stage, screen, and television. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and FebOne1960.com Blog.
Mass Media Constructions of Beauty: The Consequences of Allowing Judgment Based On What We Look Like Rather Than Who We Are
A Special Film Lab/Time Warner/Turner/HBO Event
Hide and Seek, a short film that I star in and co-produced with Garth Kravits, will be screened at Mass Media Constructions of Beauty, presented by Film Lab, Time Warner and the APEX group, during a special screening of films from the 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking competition, on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at the Time Warner Theater in New York. The films that are being shown have themes that focus on mainstream constructions of beauty and their consequences. Some of the other films that will be shown include Look Deeper: Beauty, Funny Faces, Bare, The Other Woman, Finding You, Put It On, and Beautifully Something.
The Time Warner Theater is located at One Time Warner Center, 10th fl. Screening Room (58th St. between 8th & 9th Ave. Columbus Circle) in New York. The event is from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Click here to RSVP.
I will also be on a panel moderated by Jennifer Betit Yen, Actor and President of the Asian American Film Lab, that features Rick Guidotti, award winning fashion photographer and advocate for those with genetic differences; Becky Curran, SAG-AFTRA Coordinator for Equal Employment and Diversity; and Blue Michael, Model and Founder of Blue Michael Cosmetics. We’ll address the societal implications of mainstream beauty images. A networking reception follows the discussion.
Rick Guidotti
Rick Guidotti, an award-winning former fashion photographer, has spent the past fifteen years working internationally with advocacy organizations/NGOs, medical schools, universities and other educational institutions to effect a sea-change in societal attitudes towards individuals living with genetic difference; his work has been published in newspapers, magazines and journals as diverse as Elle, GQ, People, the American Journal of Medical Genetics, The Lancet, Spirituality and Health, the Washington Post, Atlantic Monthly and Life Magazine. He founded Positive Exposure, an innovative arts, education and advocacy organization, working with individuals living with genetic, physical, cognitive and behavioral differences. His photographic exhibition, Positive Exposure; The Spirit of Difference, premiered at the People’s Genome Celebration, June 2001, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in DC. and continues to exhibit in galleries, museums and public arenas internationally.
Blue Michael
Blue Michael was born a raised in NYC from Puerto Rican parents. As a performer in Lower Eastside of Manhattan, he picked up the natural talent of Makeup Artistry. After many years of working with other brands he decided to start Blue Michael Cosmetics. A brand that mirrors his true belief in #BYourBeautiful “Let us celebrate You”.
Jennifer Betit Yen
Jennifer Betit Yen is an award winning actress, writer, producer, and a “recovering” attorney. She is the President of the Asian American Film Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion and support of gender and ethnic diversity in media, the CEO of MyJennyBook, a company providing multimedia stories for children, and is currently in production on a film entitled “The Opposite of a Fairy Tale,” designed to draw light to the issue of elder abuse, funded by a grant from the Ms. Foundation. As an actor, Betit Yen has appeared in productions at East West Players and Lodestone in Los Angeles and at the Manhattan Theatre Source and Snapple Theatre in New York. Her television credits include Royal Pains, Dirt, Film Lab Presents, The Beacon Street Girls, Reading Rainbow, and America’s Most Wanted, among others.
Becky Curran
Becky Curran is coordinator of EEO & diversity for SAG-AFTRA. Since joining SAG-AFTRA in April 2014, she has assisted with several diversity and inclusion efforts within the entertainment and news media industries. Curran graduated with a bachelor’s of science in marketing degree from Providence College in 2006, then moved to Los Angeles where she worked for one of Hollywood’s top talent agencies, Creative Artists Agency (CAA). After CAA, she worked at CBS Television Studios in casting. Curran also served as the marketing director and co-founding board member of the Catalina Film Festival.
Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an award-winning filmmaker, a Best Actress nominee, a photographer, and the Arts and Entertainment reporter for AsAmNews.com. Chang recently received a Best Actress nomination at the 2015 Asian American Film Lab 72 Hour Shootout. Lia has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is a Scripps Howard New Media Fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, a Visual Journalism Fellow at the Poynter Institute for New Media and a Western Knight Fellow at USC’s Annenberg College of Communications for Specialized Journalism on Entertainment Journalism in the Digital Age. She is the recipient of the AAJA 2001 National Award for New Media and the OCA 2000 Chinese American Journalist Award. Avenue Magazine named her one of the “One Hundred Most Influential Asian Americans”. She is featured in Joann Faung Jean Lee’s book Asian American actors: oral histories from stage, screen, and television. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and FebOne1960.com Blog.
About the Asian American Film Lab
The Film Lab is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes ethnic and gender diversity through outreach, education and production. The Film Lab provides free or low cost programming ranging from screenwriting workshops to panels to seminars to screenings. The Film Lab produces the television series “Film Lab Presents” and a wide variety of online content on AAFL TV. The Film Lab management team consists of Jennifer Betit Yen (President and Board Member, founder of AAFL TV Production Arm), Huseina Sulaimanee (Treasurer and Volunteer), Daryl King (Secretary and Board Member), Cecilia Mejia (Unfinished Works), Youn Jung Kim (2015 72 Hour Shootout Coordinator), along with a dedicated Board, interns and event volunteers. Board members include James Kyson, Ed Wong and Aaron Woolfolk, among others.
Alicia Manns, Lia Chang and Garth Kravits on the set of Hide and Seek, A GK film production, as part of the Asian American Film Lab’s #72HRSO filmmaking competition. Photo by Evan Daves #twofaces
I took the plunge into indie filmmaking with my producing partner Garth Kravits of GK films, an actor, singer, composer and musician, as part of the Asian American Film Lab’s 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout filmmaking competition. This year’s theme is Two Faces and our film is called Hide and Seek. Also featured in the cast are Evan Daves and Alicia Manns.
Garth Kravits and Evan Daves on the set of HIDE AND SEEK on June 5, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
The Shootout is a worldwide filmmaking competition celebrating gender and ethnic diversity in film in which filmmaking teams are given a common theme at the start and have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and complete short films up to five minutes in length.
Garth Kravits and Alicia Manns on the set of HIDE AND SEEK on June 5, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan at the 72 Hour Shootout Launch party at The Korea Society in New York on June 4, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Teams promote gender and ethnic diversity in media and compete for cash and prizes and the chance to have their films screened at the prestigious Asian American International Film Festival, the only festival of its kind on the East Coast, as well as at the Asians on Film Festival in Los Angeles, California. Judges include Emmy nominated director Rodrigo Garcia, ABC Executive Director of Casting Marci Phillips, playwright David Henry Hwang, agent David Elliott, stuntman Lane Leavitt, and director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan. Several of the judges were in attendance at the Launch Party to witness the start of the competition and wish the filmmakers luck.
David Henry Hwang. Photo by Lia Chang
THE 2015 72 Hour Shootout world premiere and wrap party is on Saturday, July 25, 2015, at Cinema Village East, 181-189 2nd Avenue in New York at 2:00 PM during The Asian American International Film Festival.
Check out the world premiere of the top ten most incredible films of the 2015 72 Hour Shootout! Enjoy prizes from sponsors, network and collaborate with fellow artists.
Asian American Film Lab president Jennifer Betit Yen and 72 Hour Shootout coordinator Youn Jung Kim at the 72 Hour Shootout Launch party at The Korea Society in New York on June 4, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Find out who won the awards, including mentorships from NBC, ABC and so much more! Tickets to the screening must be purchased through Asian CineVision. Click here to buy tickets.
The Wrap Party is for ALL who participated in this year’s Shootout and will be an extravaganza of prizes and celebration. The Wrap Party is free for REGISTERED Shootout competitors only (registration automatically RSVPs you). All others can RSVP in June. Of course, it’s not really a wrap, because the winning films will go on to screen at many other festivals and on AAFL TV!
Film Lab management team- Cecilia Mejia (Unfinished Works), Daryl King (Secretary and Board Member), Jennifer Betit Yen (President and Board Member, founder of AAFL TV Production Arm), Nick Sakai (Industry Spotlight), Youn Jung Kim (2015 72 Hour Shootout Coordinator), Edwin Wong (Board Member), director Berth Bay-Sa Pan and guests at the 72 Hour Shootout Launch party at The Korea Society in New York on June 4, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
About the Asian American Film Lab
The Film Lab is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes ethnic and gender diversity through outreach, education and production. The Film Lab provides free or low cost programming ranging from screenwriting workshops to panels to seminars to screenings. The Film Lab produces the television series “Film Lab Presents” and a wide variety of online content on AAFL TV. The Film Lab management team consists of Jennifer Betit Yen (President and Board Member, founder of AAFL TV Production Arm), Huseina Sulaimanee (Treasurer and Volunteer), Daryl King (Secretary and Board Member), Cecilia Mejia (Unfinished Works), Youn Jung Kim (2015 72 Hour Shootout Coordinator), Nick Sakai (Industry Spotlight), along with a dedicated Board, interns and event volunteers. Board members include James Kyson, Ed Wong and Aaron Woolfolk, among others.
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. She has guest starred on “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and “New York Undercover.” She is profiled in Jade Magazine.
Bev's Girl Films 