NEW YORK - s4story -- Following an exceptional year of creativity, innovation, and cinematic storytelling, Film Lab is proud to reveal the top two films from the 2026 Film Lab 72 Hour Shootout, the organization's annual international filmmaking competition in which teams have just 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and deliver an original short film inspired by a common theme.

This year's required theme, "Erasure Protocol," challenged filmmakers to explore ideas of identity, memory, truth, and what is lost—or intentionally erased.

Grand Prize Winner
Again
Directed by Ben Chan

Again confronts issues of interracial bias and the ways the justice system can fail those it is intended to protect. Through a compelling narrative, the film examines how assumptions, stereotypes, and systemic inequities can shape outcomes—sometimes erasing truth, identity, and justice itself. By exploring the gap between the ideals of fairness and lived reality, the film challenges audiences to reflect on accountability, due process, and equal treatment under the law.

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First Runner-Up
The Power of Forgiveness
Directed by Andrew Choi

The Power of Forgiveness explores forgiveness, identity, and transformation through the lens of a fractured family relationship shaped by anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice. When a man receives an unexpected message from his estranged aunt—whose past beliefs and actions left lasting emotional scars—he is forced to confront unresolved pain and the possibility that people can change. The film thoughtfully examines the tension between accountability and reconciliation, asking whether forgiveness requires forgetting, whether healing is ever complete, and how inherited prejudice reverberates through families across generations.

The remaining top ten films and teams: (3) A Place Between, Team Le Grazie; (4) Du Wurdest Ausgelöscht, Team Hollywoooood; (5) History Is History Is Not, Team Whitewashing; (6) Sans-papiers, Team Papillon; (7) Mibs n Nibs, Team 67; (8) Carrot Cake, Team Angora; (9) Damnatio Memoriae, Team Rebeu; and (10) United Snakes, Team Isa.

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The individual award winners—including additional category honors and placements—will be announced at the premiere.  The Top 10 films from the 2026 competition will be eligible for screening at Film Lab events and partner festivals, while the Top 50 films will be eligible for showcase online through Film Lab's YouTube channel, providing filmmakers with an opportunity to reach audiences around the world.

Film Lab congratulates every team that accepted the 72 Hour Shootout challenge. The competition continues to celebrate bold storytelling, creative collaboration, and the remarkable achievements that are possible when filmmakers are given just three days to bring an original vision to life.

More announcements will be coming soon.