FUTURE GOLD FILM FELLOWSHIP
Gold House, Netflix and Tribeca Studios have come together to create a new Directors program to help drive and support the pipeline of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) talent in the film industry. This program seeks to uplift experienced API directors and to celebrate stories from the Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Program Mission:
Future Gold Film Fellowship is an opportunity for three API directors to tell the stories they have been dreaming of telling for and about their communities and experiences, presented as short scripted films across genres and topics.
Eligible directors identify as part of Asian and Pacific Islander communities, are based in the United States, and hold a principal credit on at least two short films that have premiered at a globally recognized and/or Academy-qualifying film festival or have had theatrical, broadcast, digital or streaming distribution.
Selected fellows will receive full funding; creative feedback and mentorship from Tribeca Studios and Netflix executives as well as production support from Tribeca; exposure to established talent within the Gold House network; and a seat in Gold House Futures, the premier collective of the most promising next-gen API creatives, founders, and social impact leaders. Additionally, the short films will be considered to premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Applicants for this program have been sourced through targeted outreach from Tribeca Studios and Gold House.
Meet the Inaugural Future Gold Film Fellowship Class
Lloyd Lee Choi
Closing Dynasty
On a school day, a precocious eight-year-old boy with the gift for gab hustles and schemes ways to make money on the streets of New York.
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
While struggling to make ends meet as a photographer of Hawaiʻi’s recent lava flow, Kelsey Akioka is forced to confront the rage his family has held onto for generations.
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
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.
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.
