The Asia Pacific Entertainment Alliance and Janet Yang Productions awarded four filmmakers $25,000 to make their films as part of the Julia S. Gow Short Film Challenge.
Filmmakers include Keshni Kashyap Nilsson (“The Shoe Thief”), Nayoung Cho (“Stigma”), Patricia Lee (“Wasted Resources”) and Tiffany Lin (“The Hunger”). The Short Film Challenge judges include “Moana” star Auli’i Cravalho, “Anora” producer Samantha Quan, “Take Me Home” director Liz Sargent, “Bridgerton” actor Yerin Ha, and “Stop! That! Train!” The executive producer is Chris Quintos Cathcart.
Short Film Challenge founder and Emmy Award-winning producer Janet Yang said in a statement: “After five years of continued growth, our program now has substantial evidence that we are achieving everything we hoped for.” “Emerging filmmakers are discovered and supported in the most beautiful way, at prestigious film festivals alongside key players in the industry. Equally important, they are given the opportunity to express their creative voices to the fullest and realize their dream projects.”
The effort supported Sargent’s return to short films in 2022, which eventually became the 2026 feature Take Me Home, which won the Sundance Film Festival award for best original screenplay earlier this year.
“As representation continues to rise and fall, the success of the API women and non-binary filmmakers who emerged from this Short Film Challenge demonstrates the importance of continuing to uplift these stories despite the decline in gender and racial diversity in Hollywood,” CAPE program director Leanne Moore said in a statement.
This is the fifth year of this challenge. The short film program concludes with a commemorative screening showcase in November.
