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The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and Janet Yang Productions have granted four filmmakers $25,000 to produce their films as part of the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge.
The filmmakers include Keshni
Kashyap Nilsson (“The Shoe Burglars”), Nayon Cho (“Stigma”), Patricia Lee (“Wasted Resources”) and Tiffany Lin (“Hunger”). The Short Film Challenge’s jury is comprised of “Moana” star Auli‘i Cravalho, “Anora” producer Samantha Quan, “Take Me Home” director Liz Sargent, “Bridgerton” actor Yerin Ha and “Stop! That! Train!” executive producer Chris Quintos Cathcart.
“After five years of our program continuing to grow, we have substantial evidence that it is achieving everything we had hoped for,” Short Film Challenge founder and Emmy award-winning producer Janet Yang said in a statement. “New filmmakers are being discovered and supported in the most beautiful way — at top festivals, with key players in the industry. Equally important, they have been given a chance to realize their full creative voice, bringing dream projects to fruition.”
The initiative supported Sargent’s short back in 2022 that eventually became her 2026 feature, “Take Me Home,” which won Sundance’s top screenwriting honor earlier this year.
“In a landscape where representation continues to rise and fall, successes from the API women and non-binary filmmakers coming out of this Short Film Challenge demonstrate the importance of continuing to uplift these stories despite decreased gender and racial diversity in Hollywood,” CAPE’s head of programs Rhian Moore said in a statement.
This is the fifth year of the challenge. The short film program will end in a celebratory screening showcase in November.
