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Disney’s “Launchpad,” the anthology series of American independent short films will return for its third season. Submissions for the new season are now open through June 2.

“Launchpad” first started in 2021, and is a 12-month program that cultivates emerging filmmakers. Members in the program work closely with Disney creative executives to make live-action shorts to possibly premiere on Disney+. Filmmakers will also be mentored and have the opportunity to engage in a training program that teaches collaboration.

“‘Launchpad’ gave me the opportunity to really stretch myself as a director—working on stunts and collaborating with Industrial Light and Magic (Ilm) on my visual effects is something I could have only dreamed of doing before,” said Erica Eng, director of “The Ghost.” “The program works hard to set us up for success even after the program has ended, and I’m really thankful for their support as a filmmaker.”

Season 2 of “Launchpad” was released on Sept.

On Thursday, Disney Entertainment Television (Det) announced that it has selected the latest cohorts for the company’s Scripted Directing and Writing Programs, two of the entertainment industry’s most successful talent development initiatives.

After expanding into daytime television just last year, three program participants will direct episodes for ABC’s “General Hospital,” with other individuals positioned across Disney-owned 20th Television, ABC Entertainment and ABC Signature-produced programs as directors or writers.

“General Hospital”

ABC

Joining the “General Hospital” team are Erica Eng, Nina Kramer and Aubrey Smyth, each of whom will be shadowing and directing episodes of the daytime drama series, which recently won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series at “The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” in December. The team was represented by directors Tina Keller, Robert Markham, Allison Reames Smith, Gary Tomlin, Frank Valentini (the show’s executive producer), Denise Van Cleave and Phideaux Xavier,...

Disney Entertainment Television has selected its latest cohorts for its Directing and Writing Programs, talent development initiatives which nurture creatives on the cusp of television episode directing and staff writing.

“It’s an honor to welcome these exceptional directors and writers into the Det Directing and Writing Programs,” said Tim McNeal, senior vice president, Creative Talent Development and Inclusion, Det. “It’s clear that this group of talented creatives will have a lasting impact not only on Disney but on the industry at large. We’re proud to be part of their journey to shape the future of storytelling.”

2023-2024 Det Directing Program – Scripted Cohort

The Det Directing Program guarantees participants the opportunity to direct an episode of a Disney scripted series or a segment of a Disney unscripted series, and offers professional and career development through mentorship, on-set shadowing experience, and networking opportunities with the company’s creative executives and program alumni.

America Ferrera thinks the future is bright for women filmmakers despite the uphill challenges they face in Hollywood.

Recapturing the magic of her viral monologue in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” film, Ferrera delivered a moving speech as the keynote presenter during the Academy’s annual women’s luncheon presented by Chanel on Thursday that prompted a minutes-long standing ovation. Ferrera’s remarks focused on the importance of fellowship and how the impact of a union of voices can make waves within the industry.

“Community is not something that we can or should take for granted — and I would like us to consider that growing and strengthening this community might be the key to moving this industry,” she told the crowd.

“By the time I was finding success in my career, I was used to standing on my own. I was the first of my time, the only woman or the...

Some of the biggest names in entertainment were in attendance at the Academy Women’s Luncheon, which was timed perfectly to celebrate the end of the actors strike.

Kristen Stewart, Lupita Nyong’o, America Ferrera, and Maude Apatow were just some of the stars who attended the luncheon at the Academy Museum on Thursday afternoon (November 9) in Los Angeles.

The afternoon, presented by Chanel, featured opening remarks by Academy President Janet Yang, followed by actor and former Academy governor Annette Bening, who introduced this year’s U.S. Gold Fellowship for Women recipient, Erica Eng.

America delivered a keynote presentation.

“Fellowship is community, and we’ve all decided to invest in fellowship just by being here this day,” she said during her speech (via THR). “Our grandmothers and our great-grandmothers dreamed of rooms like this. Women from different backgrounds telling stories, celebrating each other, even as we stand together to demand more space,...

Writers and actors walking the red carpet at the Academy Women’s Luncheon, presented by Chanel, in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning were able to talk about their projects for the first time in months following news that SAG-AFTRA reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios and streamers to end their historic strike just the night before.

“We stood strong and fought the fight for 118 days,” actress and comedian Sherry Cola told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m just thrilled that me and my fellow performers can now celebrate our projects and keep doing the work that we love doing. I’m very grateful to be a part of this industry right now and to keep representing and telling these stories.”

Screenwriter and director Patty Jenkins was on a conference call with her agent when she heard the news. “We were going over materials that we hadn’t been able to finish,...

Exclusive: It’s all about connection in Season 2 of Disney+’s Launchpad.

The collection of live-action shorts is set to debut on September 29, and Deadline has an exclusive look at the posters for all six — Project Cc, The Ghost, The Roof, Beautiful, Fl, Black Belts and Maxine.

Three of the posters are above, and the remainder are below.

Launchpad Season 2 is a collection of live-action shorts from a new generation of dynamic filmmakers. This season showcases six writers, five directors and one writer-director from underrepresented backgrounds who were given the opportunity to share their perspectives and creative visions.

Continuing the goal of Disney’s first season of Launchpad, which was to diversify the types of stories that are being told by giving access to those who historically have not had it, the second installment focuses on the theme of “connection.”

‘Beautiful, Fl,’ ‘ Black Belts’ & ‘Maxine’

Here are more details about...

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the U.S. and international recipients of the 2023 Academy Gold Fellowship for Women.

Erica Eng and July Jung are the most recent filmmakers to receive the fellowship, each with a prize of $35,000. Now in its sixth year, this is the second year the fellowship has worked in partnership with Chanel.

Part of Academy Gold, a global talent development and inclusion initiative, the Fellowship for Women is a one-year program that combines direct support, personalized mentorship and access to once-in-a-lifetime networking opportunities for emerging women filmmakers to further their pursuits in the field. Other initiative operating within Academy Gold include Gold Rising, the Student Academy Awards and Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.

“We are honored to advance the work of Erica and July – two extraordinary filmmakers. The Academy’s Gold Fellowship for Women is a crucial part of the Academy...

$35,000 prize for US and international winners.

The Academy has selected Erica Eng and July Jung as its 2023 Academy Gold Fellowship For Women recipients.

The fellowship is part of the Academy Gold global talent development and inclusion initiative and offers a one-year programme offering direct support, mentorship and access to top-level networking opportunities for emerging women filmmakers to further their careers.

Two fellowships are awards each year with a $35,000 prize for each category.

Eng and Jung will Fellows also get career advancement support through the Gold Alumni Program providing provides continued access, opportunity, professional development and education for alumni of Academy Gold programmes including Gold Rising,...

The Slamdance Film Festival has announced the winners of their 2023 Jury and Audience Awards. In the Narrative Feature category, “Waiting for the Light to Change” took the top honor, while “Starring Jerry as Himself” pulled double duty as the winner of both Narrative and Jury prizes in the documentary category. The film’s own Jerry Hsu was awarded the festival’s Outstanding Acting Award.

Other Jury prizewinners include “The Underbug” for Breakouts Feature, “Palookaville” for Episodes, and “Millstone” in the Unstoppable program.

“Honeycomb” won the Audience Award for Episodes, and “American Pot Story: Oaksterdam” took home the prize for the Unstoppable competition.

This year’s Agbo Fellowship, presented by 2022 recipient and current Slamdance jury member Ethan Eng, was awarded to Tij D’Oyen. His short film “Lollygag” was featured as part of the Narrative Shorts competition.

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Sundance 2023 Portrait Gallery: Jonathan Majors, Daisy Ridley, Sofia Coppola and More (Exclusive Photos...

Slamdance Film Festival has revealed the winners of its annual Sparky Awards, with “Waiting for the Light to Change” and “Where the Road Leads” taking home the narrative feature grand jury prize and audience award, respectively.

Directed by Linh Tran, narrative feature grand jury prize winner “Waiting for the Light to Change” is an “exceptional act of patience, restraint, courage and authenticity,” according to the jury. “Filmmaker Linh Tran paints a remarkably honest portrait of vulnerability that breaks open the heart of its audience, demanding sincerity and drawing deep reflection of the fractured nature of ourselves and the complex, human spaces between each of us.”

The Agbo Fellowship, which includes a 25,000 scholarship and mentorship from Slamdance alumni Joe and Anthony Russo, was awarded to Tij D’Oyen. He presented his narrative short film, “Lollygag,” during the festival.

“Tij expertly crafted a bold and original cinematic piece, showcasing himself as a unique...

Festival ran in Park City, Salt Lake City from January 20-29.

Linh Tran’s Waiting For The Light To Change and Law Chen’s Starring Jerry As Himself have won the 2023 Slamdance grand jury narrative and documentary awards this week.

The 2023 Slamdance Unstoppable Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Peter Hoffman Kimball’s, while the Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize went to Shujaat Saudagar’s The Underbug (India), and the 2023 Episodes Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Theodore Collatos’s Palookaville.

The Agbo Fellowship, presented by 2022 recipient and current Slamdance jury member Ethan Eng, went to Tij D’Oyen at the January 26 ceremony.

"I want to se that kind of hustle from you in the playoffs." After winning awards at film festivals throughout 2021, this excellent short is finally online. Americanized is a film by a filmmaker named Erica Eng and it's about a young woman dealing with racism and bullying at her high school. This is one of those stand out shorts that establishes a filmmaker and proves they're capable of making something amazing, and I hope Eng gets a chance to make a feature soon. Growing up in Oakland's hip-hop culture, Eng struggles with her Chinese American identity. To her high school basketball team she's just that girl who sits on the bench, but to the Asian kids she's "Americanized." As her sophomore year of high school comes to an end, Eng tries to find a sense of belonging within the two worlds that don't accept her. Starring Terry Hu as Eng,...

The Tribeca Festival has announced the television premieres for its upcoming 2022 edition.

The festival, which takes place each year in New York City, features screenings and premieres of notable films, television series and audio storytelling. For its television slate, the festival will premiere nine new series and screen the returns of two series.

The television lineup includes six docuseries: Hulu’s “Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons,” an exposé of the lingerie retail chain; HBO Max’s “Menudo: Forever Young,” a look behind-the-scenes of the titular Puerto Rican boy band; Peacock’s “The End is Nye,” which sees celebrity scientist and TV host Bill Nye examine potential global disasters; Showtime’s “Supreme Team,” an examination of a real-life Queens gang co-directed by rapper Nas; A&e Network’s “Right to Offend,” a Time Studios production that looks at the history of Black comedians using their comedy to push for social...

Disney Plus has announced the films and filmmakers for Disney Studios Content’s second season of “Launchpad,” a collection of live-action short films.

Selected out of almost 2,000 applicants, all from underrepresented backgrounds, the lineup of filmmakers features six writers, five directors and one writer-director (Niki Ang). Their six short films, based on the theme “connection,” will debut on the streaming service in 2023.

After the successful debut of the pipeline program last year, the Disney team strived to up the ante with year two. Disney senior manager Phillip Domfeh, who runs the initiative’s second season, tells Variety that the team asked themselves, “How do we grow and expand impact? And how do we continue to take our program to the next level?”

The pipeline program therefore added a writing track, which allowed both directors and writers to apply, while the first season was geared solely toward multi-hyphenate filmmakers.

“One of...

“Does she think she’s black now?” sneers Denise (Shannon Dang) as Eng (Terry Hu) enters a classroom sporting her new dreadlocks. Eng may be inspired by fashion associated with the hip hop music she loves, but she’s not just another white girl trying to look cool; she’s an ethnically Chinese American in search of an identity, a way of expressing herself that other people will accept, and that’s not easy. She does’t speak Chinese so other kids use it to mock her when she’s in the same room. Most white and black kids, however, treat her as an outsider, as if she were not fully American. Alongside music, her dearest love is basketball, but it’s not easy to feel like part of the team.

Writer/director Erica Eng rooted this Oscar-qualifying short film in her own experiences growing up in Oakland, whilst producer...

Exclusive: A3 Artists Agency has signed rising talent Terry Hu.

After studying neuroscience at UCLA, Hu ended up deferring for a year to pursue acting. In that time, they submitted themselves to ABC’s nationwide digital talent search and ended up winning in November 2018. Hu then officially turned down school and began auditioning, landing a few short film roles including Americanized.

The Erica Eng-directed project, led by Hu, tells the story of a teen growing up in Oakland’s hip-hop movement who struggles to fit in. The story is based on Eng’s life. The short film has been racking up awards while on the film festival circuit.

Up next, Hu will debut in the Disney Channel’s Zombies 3, the third and final installment of the Zombies original movie series based on the book Zombies & Cheerleaders from David Light and Joseph Raso. Their role heralds the first time...

The 22nd San Diego Asian Film Festival (Sdaff) announced the winners of its competition categories at the Sdaff Awards Gala, held virtually on Saturday, November 6, 2021.

Top honors went to I Was A Simple Man for the Grand Jury Prize, Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust for Best Documentary Feature, and 7 Days for Best Narrative Feature.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Asian American Juried Competition

Jurors include Peter X Feng, Keisha N. Knight, Phuong Le, and Meena Nanji

Grand Jury Prize

I Was A Simple Man

Directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi

Best Documentary Feature

Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

Directed by Ann Kaneko

Best Narrative Feature

7 Days

Directed by Roshan Sethi

Best Documentary Short

An Uninterrupted View Of The Sea

Directed by Mika Yatsuhashi

Best Narrative Short

Americanized

Directed by Erica Eng

Best Experimental Short

Rumi And His Roses

Directed by Navid Sinaki

Special Jury Mention

To...

Brooklyn’s Bushwick Film Festival has set the lineup for its hybrid 14th edition, which will return to live screenings and special events from October 20-24, showcasing the digital artworks known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for the first time in its history.

This year’s festival features more than 135 indie features from 27 countries. While it’s long presented such awards as Best Feature (Narrative & Documentary), Best Short (Narrative & Documentary), and Best Series, it will now also welcome screenplays into competition.

Notable works screening at this year’s festival include Lissette Feliciano’s Women Is Losers, starring Lorenza Izzo, Simu Liu and Liza Weil; Elias Plagianos’ indie TV series Hudson Falls, starring William Sadler, Richard Kind and Jessica Hecht; Nicolas Minas’ Emma Without Edmond, starring Lynn Cohen; Kate Beacon and Louis Legge’s Rehab Cabin; Elizabeth D. Costa’s Bangla Surf Girls; Prashanth Kamalakanthan’s Have a Nice Life; Ashish Pant...

Exclusive: The Bentonville Film Festival has announced the winners of its jury prizes, awarding Best Documentary to Kili Big and Best Narrative Feature to 7 Days.

Two other jury awards were given out, along with three special recognition prizes.

The festival led by Academy Award-winning actor and Festival Chair Geena Davis is dedicated to championing underrepresented voices. It took place this year between August 3-8.

Narrative judges included Marginal Mediaworks Founder & CEO, Sanjay Sharma, and Michelle Sugihara, who serves as Executive Director of Cape. Marginal MediaWorks’s Head of Film Milan Chakraborty judged documentaries alongside Head of Whistle Studios, Melanie Johnson, with Tom Hoehn and Alexander Shekarchian overseeing episodic and short categories.

Kili Big follows a group of plus-sized women from around the world, who attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The doc from director Ida Joglar made its world premiere at the festival.

“Unforgivable,” a film hailing from El Salvador, won the best of the festival award during the 2021 edition of the Palm Springs International ShortFest.

Directed by Marlén Viñayo, “Unforgivable” follows a hitman for the 18th Street gang as he serves his sentence in an evangelical Salvadorian prison, where he is punished not only for his crimes, but for being gay. Selected by a jury consisting of 2020 ShortFest best of festival winner Bérangère Mc Neese and Sundance Festival programmer Ania Trzebiatowska, “Unforgivable” will receive a $5,000 cash prize. The honorable mention in the best of festival category went to French film “Palma.”

“Step Into the River,” from both China and France, won best animated short at the festival, with French film “Navozande, the Musician” earning an honorable mention. “Step Into the River,” directed by Weijia Ma. Lu and Wei, is a surreal exploration into China’s one-child policy, and was awarded $1,000 in prize money.