Netflix, Tribeca Studios, Gold House reveal three API directors for first-ever Future Gold Film Fellowship

January 27, 2022

Netflix, Tribeca Studios and Gold House have teamed up to launch the first class of the Future Gold Film Fellowship, featuring directors Lloyd Lee Choi, Erin Lau and Derek Nguyen.

The Gold Film Fellowship was designed with Asian and Pacific Islander (API) directors in mind, and will give the three directors the opportunity to create scripted short films that delve deep into family love, persistence and loss.

Choi, Lau and Nguyen will get full funding, creative feedback and mentorship from executives at Tribeca Studios and Netflix and production expertise from the studio. The three directors will gain access to the Gold House network and a seat in Gold House Futures. They will also get a chance to showcase their short films at Tribeca Film Festival in June.

The directors were chosen based on their project pitches by a selection committee that includes Daniel Dae Kim, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jon M. Chu, Janet Yang, Maurissa Tancharoen, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Abhijay Prakash, Albert Cheng, Alice Wu, Aneesh Chaganty, Bao Nguyen and Christopher Kahunahana.

“These projects demonstrate the wonderful breadth of stories that can come from the API community,” Chaganty said. “And as someone whose career was kickstarted by a short film, I’m particularly excited to see this crop of filmmakers bring these stories to life.”

Get to know more about the directors and their projects below.

Lloyd Lee Choi (“Closing Dynasty”)

Logline: On a school day, a precocious 8-year-old boy with the gift for gab hustles and schemes ways to make money on the streets of New York.

Bio: Lloyd Lee Choi is a filmmaker from Toronto who got his start in the ad world. Named 30 Under 30 by Marketing Mag, he has directed campaigns for brands like Google, Playstation, Chevrolet and Nat Geo. With his eyes set towards telling bigger stories, he is currently developing his first feature film based around his short “Same Old” about one bad night for a New York City delivery driver. Passionate about representation in front and behind the camera, he is driven to dig deeper into the Asian American experience — one rich with new and compelling stories to tell.

Erin Lau (“Inheritance”)

Logline: While struggling to make ends meet as a photographer of Hawai’i’s recent lava flow, Kelsey Akioka is forced to confront the rage his family has held onto for generations.

Bio: Raised in Kahaluʻu, Hawaiʻi, Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau has dedicated her life to creating empathy-forward stories for her community. After receiving degrees from the University of Hawai’i and Chapman University, Erin continued her growth through opportunities with the Sundance Institute, Film Independent’s Project Involve, Unlock Her Potential, Points North Institute, Nia Tero, and Powderkeg’s Break The Room. Most recently, Erin produced and directed work for three years at Jubilee Media, where her videos accumulated over 130 million views.

Derek Nguyen (“The Resemblance”)

Logline: When a grieving older couple go to a “rental family” agency to hire an actor to role-play their dead son, they discover that their evening of remembrance is more than they bargained for.

Bio: Derek Nguyen wrote and directed “The Housemaid,” which was released theatrically by IFC Films. He’s producing the American adaptation called “Grave Hill,” co-written by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Fletcher and directed by Deon Taylor, slated for production in 2022. Derek’s short “The Potential Wives” of Norman Mao screened at multiple film festivals around the world and was narrated by George Takei. He is also a partner with Mynette Louie at The Population, which produced “Swallow, I Carry You With Me” and “Catch the Fair One.”

Images via Netflix

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