SUNDANCE INSTITUTE AND GOLD HOUSE ANNOUNCE SECOND COHORT OF ONE HOUSE FILMMAKERS FUND, MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM THE EAST WEST BANK FOUNDATION

Grantees Celebrated at First-Ever One House Filmmakers Fund Soiree at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 26, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CA; October 28, 2024 The nonprofits Sundance Institute and Gold House are thrilled to announce the second cohort of 10 filmmakers for the Sundance Institute | One House Filmmakers Fund, a first-of-its-kind fund providing unrestricted financing, educational support, and amplification for filmmakers from historically underrepresented communities. The fund is made possible by the generous support of East West Bank Foundation, the charitable arm of East West Bank, furthering their dynamic work within the entertainment industry, supporting storytellers of all backgrounds to create impactful cultural dialogues. The grantees were chosen by a selection committee of executives from the Sundance Institute, Gold House, East West Bank Foundation, and leading multicultural organizations, the Blackhouse, GLAAD, Latinx House, and the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, who all united around the common cause of supporting underrepresented storytellers.

To announce this cohort of grantees, Sundance Institute, Gold House, and East West Bank Foundation hosted a special celebration on Saturday, October 26 - the One House Filmmakers Fund Soiree - with over 200+ industry leaders and tastemakers at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The event also featured a special pitch session, where the 10 filmmakers were given an exclusive opportunity to pitch their projects to financiers and distributors. Attendees included Dominic Ng (Chairman and CEO, East West Bank), Janet Yang (President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), Aitch Alberto (Director, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe), Zainab Azizi (Producer, Sam Raimi Productions), Wesley Chan (WongFu Productions), Tzi Ma (Actor), Kyle Hanagami (Choreographer), Leah Lewis (Actor, Elemental), Eric Nam (Music Artist, Actor, Producer), Leroy Sanchez (Singer, Songwriter), Jeanne Yang (Manager, Stylist), Ramona Young (Actor), and more.

The demand for diverse stories and storytelling is clear. As UCLA's annual Hollywood Diversity Report shows, America's increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse content in streaming film releases. However, while there has been progress on-camera - BIPOC representation on-camera in streaming film leads and total actors reached or exceeded proportional representation (45% and 48%, respectively) in 2023 - behind the camera, clear gaps in representation still exist. Less than 1 in 3 streaming film directors and writers identify as BIPOC. The same trends exist for women; less than 1 in 3 streaming film directors and less than half of writers are women.

To address these gaps, Sundance Institute and Gold House, with curatorial support from a collective of multicultural organizations, launched the One House Filmmakers Fund this January, powered by the inaugural financial support of East West Bank Foundation. The inaugural cohort of 10 filmmakers included Arun Bhattarai, whose documentary Agent of Happiness premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and Jalena Keane-Lee, whose film Standing Above The Clouds premiered at Hot Docs this year and earned her a spot on Paper Magazine's Top 5 Asian Creators to know.

The second cohort of filmmakers and their respective projects in development are:

Pierre Coleman for Ricky

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan for Hum

Colette Ghunim for Traces of Home

Julia Kennelly for Clare

Sofian Khan for Karachi Sky

Naomi Ko for Marry Korean

April Maxey for Work

John Sutter for Planet A

Angela Tucker for The Inquisitor

Jing Wang for Ride With Delivery Workers

We are proud to partner with Gold House and Sundance Institute to support the One House Filmmakers Fund, said Dominic Ng, Chairman and CEO of East West Bank. By embracing diverse perspectives and narratives, we enrich our collective innovation and create a more inclusive environment where new ideas can thrive. Whether in entertainment or business, celebrating diverse cultural experiences not only broadens a market base but also builds stronger, more empathetic connections between communities, laying the foundation to allow everyone to reach further.

We are thrilled to announce the ten filmmakers selected for the second year of the Sundance Institute | One House Filmmakers Fund. These inspirational artists, working across fiction and nonfiction, reflect the rich diversity of storytelling that drives our industry forward. With the generous support of Gold House, we are proud to continue our shared commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices and providing a platform for these filmmakers to explore bold, authentic narratives that resonate globally. Their work speaks to the transformative power of film, and we look forward to seeing the impact their stories will have on audiences everywhere, said Hajnal Molnar Szakacs, Director, Artist Accelerator and Women at Sundance, Sundance Institute.

The One House Filmmakers Fund powers stories that create a tomorrow for all. We are so honored to partner with Sundance Institute, the East West Bank Foundation, the Blackhouse, GLAAD, Latinx House, and the NAACP Hollywood Bureau to provide the critical funding, mentorship, and amplification needed to bring those stories to light, said Christine Yi, General Partner of the Gold House Creative Equity Fund.

The One House Filmmakers Fund is crucial in amplifying diverse voices and ensuring that stories are told authentically. Providing filmmakers with opportunities like this fund is essential to allow unique and bold narratives to be seen and heard, said Olga Segura, Co-founder of The Latinx House.

It is an honor to be a part of The One House Film Fund and evaluate content created by underrepresented voices who will ultimately be selected to receive funds to en

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