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Cape (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) and Janet Yang Productions today revealed the four grantees of the 2024 Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge for Asian and Pacific Islander Women and Non-Binary Filmmakers.

In its third consecutive year, the four filmmakers will each receive a $25,000 production grant to produce their short films.

Yang, who also serves as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said, “I love it when dreams become reality – I had a dream that I shared with Julia Gouw several years ago that I wanted to support emerging filmmakers who are Aapi and female or nonbinary, since we are still profoundly underrepresented.” She added, “With Julia’s support and in collaboration with Cape, this dream has been realized. Now we are able to help the dreams of many others come true with this short film competition.”

Michelle K. Sugihara, executive director of Cape, said,...

Olivia Rodrigo, Charles Melton, and Past Lives star Greta Lee are among the winners honored on the 2024 Gold List, which highlights outstanding work by Asian Pacific creatives in film.

Voted on by members of the advocacy groups Gold House and Cape (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), the fourth-annual Gold List was released Wednesday, with the critically-acclaimed Past Lives leading the pack with four wins, including Best Picture, Best Director for Celine Song, and Best Performance in a Leading Role for Lee (the categories are not categorized by gender).

Melton...

Gold House and Cape (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) debuted the fourth annual Gold List to guide voters during the awards race by honoring the most outstanding work in film by Asian Pacific creatives in the past year, as voted on by the community’s industry leaders. Notable winners this year include Past Lives (including Celine Song and Greta Lee), May December’s Charles Melton, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, Olivia Rodrigo, The Boy and the Heron, and a historic number of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander honorees.

Last year erased any doubt that films by and starring Asian Pacific creatives could achieve the pinnacles of commercial and critical success. According to Gold House’s research, 22% of films grossing over $100 million at the post-pandemic domestic box office featured an Asian Pacific director, screenwriter, or lead actor. 2023 Gold List winner Everything Everything All At Once broke records during the 2023 awards season...

Gold House and Cape (Coalition of Asian Pacifics) in Entertainment released the fourth annual Gold List, which spotlights outstanding work and talent within the Aapi community over the past 12 months.

“The Gold List was created to ensure awards seasons and mainstream society are up to date on the most worthy creative work — particularly work from communities that have been historically overlooked or excluded,” Jeremy Tran, executive director and chief operating officer of Gold House, said in a statement. “Every visible success leads to numerous unseen doors that are opened for new creative development, production, and distribution opportunities for these communities.”

Celine Song’s “Past Lives” leads the list which is voted on by the community’s industry leaders and used to guide voters during awards season. It received a nod for best picture, director and original screenplay for Song and performance in a leading role for Greta Lee. Teo Yoo...

After last awards season’s banner haul for artists of Asian descent, Gold House and Cape are hoping the community will strike gold again.

The two leading Asian Pacific nonprofits in the entertainment industry have revealed the results of their fourth annual Gold List, which draws attention to the top Api hopefuls in the awards race. “The Gold List was created to ensure awards seasons and mainstream society are up to date on the most worthy creative work – particularly work from communities that have been historically overlooked or excluded,” Gold House executive director and COO Jeremy Tran said in a statement. “Every visible success leads to numerous unseen doors that are opened for new creative development, production and distribution opportunities for these communities.”

Celine Song’s Past Lives tops the Gold List with four selections, plus an honorable mention, while May December’s Charles Melton, The Boy and the Heron...

A powerful moment of perspective between and father and his son plays out in this exclusive clip from the upcoming Western drama, The Wind & the Reckoning. Inspired by real-life events, The Wind & the Reckoning stars Mulan and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story actor Jason Scott Lee as a cowboy who, along with his young son, finds himself at the center of the Koolau Rebellion in Hawaii, which took place in the late 1800s. You can check out the exclusive clip from The Wind & the Reckoning below.

Directed and produced by David L. Cunningham (To End All Wars), The Wind & the Reckoning takes place in 1893 on Kauai, after the Hawaiian Kingdom had been overthrown by agents and Hawaii-based citizens of the United States and just as an outbreak of leprosy engulfs the tropical paradise. The new government orders all Native Hawaiians suspected of having the disease banished...

The Hawai’i International Film Festival (Hiff), presented by Halekulani, revealed its lineup for the 42nd edition of the annual film festival taking place from November 3 to 13 on Oahu and November 17-20 on neighbor islands, with virtual programs streaming from November 3 to 27 nationwide. The program includes 102 features, 124 shorts, and seven nominated film programs. Among the lineup are 111 Hawai‘i premieres, 69 world premieres, 14 U.S. premieres, 10 North American premieres and 7 international premieres from 37 countries. Featuring in-person screenings alongside digital screenings, HIFF42 will be accessible to audiences across the state of Hawai‘i with select availability across the United States.

“Hiff is back in a big way!” says Hiff executive director Beckie Stocchetti. “We are incredibly excited to welcome our guests and audiences back to theaters across O‘ahu and the state, with screenings at Consolidated Kahala, Ward, and Kapolei, and additional screenings at HoMa’s Doris Duke Theater, in theaters on Kaua‘i,...

The fund has previously backed titles including ‘Censor’ and ‘The Colour Room’.

The UK’s Ffilm Cymru Wales has invested £280,183 of National Lottery funding in the development of 12 feature films, throughout the past year, the Welsh film agency has revealed.

The agency offers writers, directors and producers support through the development process, and up to £25,000 of funding.

Titles to receive backing from this funding round include A Womanly Way: The Story Of Olivia Records, from director Hannah Berryman and producer Catryn Ramasut/ They previously worked together on Rockfield: The Studio On The Farm, and have received £24,980 for their documentary about...

There aren’t many recognizable faces in “Finding ‘Ohana,” Netflix’s adorably entertaining reimagining of “The Goonies” set in Hawaii. Though Chris Parnell and Marc Evan Jackson jazz up some very funny “Drunk History”-inspired scenes, the speaking roles include Branscombe Richmond, a veteran Hawaiian actor who played owner of the bar where Jason Segel sings his Dracula musical in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” There’s also Ke Huy Quan, harder to recognize since his 20-year retirement from acting, in a supporting role. Quan was a childhood hero for many Asian American kids, who first saw themselves onscreen in his performances in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and of course, “The Goonies.”

One of those kids was Jude Weng, now a prolific director on beloved TV comedies “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “The Good Place,” and “Fresh Off the Boat,” making her splashy feature debut with “Finding ‘Ohana.” (The film reached the...

Director Jude Weng’s “Finding ‘Ohana” starts on a good note and continues that feeling through most of its story, which focuses on a tween girl and her family searching for buried treasure while reconnecting with each other and their Hawaiian heritage. Paying homage to adventure movies like “The Goonies,” “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” and “Tomb Raider” without blatantly mimeographing them, this family-friendly, character-forward feature from Netflix charms as well as entertains. Yet by the time the first hour has ended, a slight fatigue encroaches on the effervescent fun and it begins to lose its way.

After winning a competition that involves a high-intensity race around the streets of New York City, 12-year-old Brooklynite Pilialoha “Pili” Kawena (Kea Peahu) expects to cash in her prize by spending a perfect summer vacation at a geocache camp in the Catskills. But those dreams are dashed when her semi-estranged Hawaiian...

"This is it! This is where the coin wanted us to go." Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for a teenage adventure movie titled Finding 'Ohana, set on Hawaii's island of Oahu. This kind of looks like a Hawaiian remake of The Goonies, with over-saturated sets and mesmerizing pirate-treasure locations. A summer in rural O'ahu takes an exciting turn for two Brooklyn-raised siblings when an old journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an epic adventure with new friends, and leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage. 'Ohana means "family", so the movie is essentially about "Finding Family" and reconnecting with her family and her roots on Hawaii. The authentic full cast features Kea Peahu as the youngster Pili, Alex Aiono, Lindsay Watson, Owen Vaccaro, with Kelly Hu, Branscombe Richmond, Ke Huy Quan, Brad Kalilimoku, and Chris Parnell. Looks super fun! Plus, who doesn't love spending time on Hawaii?...

Netflix has released the trailer for Finding 'Ohana. The footage makes the adventure movie look like the perfect fit for any fans of The Goonies or the Indiana Jones franchise. Young Sheldon director Jude Weng made her feature directorial debut with the movie, which premieres January 29th, exclusively on Netflix. Weng directed Finding 'Ohana from a script written by Christina Strain, which takes place during the summer in rural O'ahu. The story takes an exciting turn for two Brooklyn-raised siblings when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an epic adventure with new friends, and leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.

Geocache champion Pilialoha "Pili" Kawena, age 12, is abruptly lifted from her busy New York life and dropped into rural O'ahu to help care for her grandfather. Initially skeptical about her new surroundings, Pili finds a cryptic pirate's journal in her Papa's studio hinting at a...

This year’s Wendy might be a film from another far off destination in Hawaii. Jude Weng‘s directorial debut Finding Ohana is a film about treasures beyond pots of gold and is populated by non-actor talents who look the part (and specifically the two leads in Kea Peahu and Alex Aiono) this also includes Marc Evan Jackson, Lindsay Watson, Owen Vaccaro, Kelly Hu, Ke Huy Quan, Ricky Garcia, Ryan Higa, Mapuana Makia, Brad Kalilimoku, X Mayo, and Kyndra Sanchez. Netflix grabbed the family action-adventure film and not too long after, Weng saw Amazon Studios attached themselves to what will be her sophomore film – Shelly.…...

Netflix has nabbed the rights to “Young Sheldon” director Jude Weng’s feature directorial debut “Finding Ohana.”

The film follows two Brooklyn siblings (Kea Peahu and Alex Aiono) whose summer in a rural Oahu town takes an exciting turn when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an adventure, leading them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.

The pic marks Peahu and Aiono’s acting debuts and sources tell Variety it was very important for Netflix to find a cast of predominantly Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, even if it met find a lot of newcomers for the large ensemble.

“The Good Place’s” Marc Evan Jackson, Lindsay Watson, Owen Vaccaro, Kelly Hu, Ke Huy Quan, Ricky Garcia, Ryan Higa, Mapuana Makia, Brad Kalilimoku, X Mayo, and Kyndra Sanchez have also joined the cast. Christina Strain penned the script.

“Transformers'” Ian Bryce will produce through his Ian Bryce Productions...