Yahoo Lifestyle Asian American Foundation and Sundance Institute Announce Third Cohort Fellows
The Asian American Foundation and the nonprofit Sundance Institute have partnered for a third year of the Sundance Institute and The Asian American Foundation Fellowship and Scholarship.
The scholarship provides Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander artists working in film and television with professional development resources and opportunities to connect with peers and mentors.
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Norman Chen, CEO of TAAF said, “Authentic representation in media is about more than just visibility—it’s about creating a sense of belonging for our communities, and fostering greater safety and prosperity. When our stories are told by us with depth and complexity, they can challenge and dismantle stereotypes, strengthen our shared identity, and contribute to a more inclusive society where everyone can thrive.”
Each year, the Fellowship program provides six AANHPI artists at critical junctures in their career with a year-long fellowship that focuses on advancing their creative and technical development. Fellows receive creative guidance, practical support, and a $20,000 unrestricted grant. In addition, six emerging AANHPI creatives are awarded Scholarships, which include a year-long artist development experience that offers mentorship from a Sundance artist alumnus, personalized career and project support , and opportunities to engage with Sundance staff and the broader creative community virtually and in person at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Our ongoing partnership with The Asian American Foundation reaffirms our commitment to uplifting AANHPI artists and ensuring their stories influence independent film and television. By offering essential financial and career development support at a pivotal moment in an artist’s career, we empower them to thrive and create work that resonates beyond their immediate communities. We’re honored to celebrate the third year of the Fellowship and Scholarship and eagerly anticipate the incredible impact these artists will make,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, director, artist accelerator and Women at Sundance at Sundance Institute.
The artists selected for the year three cohort of fellows are:
Nicole Docta
Nicole Docta is an award-winning filmmaker who’s focused her career on socially impactful projects and BIPOC stories. Docta was a Special Initiatives Producer at Firelight Media, is a DOC NYC 40 Under 40 Alum, Producers Guild of America Create Alum, Sundance Institute Producer Fellow and Impact Partners Producer Fellow.
“Project: “Adopting” – All adoptions start with a trauma. Through this lens, Adopting explores adoption practices in need of reform. The film explores the emotional journey unique to adopted people and the life-long lessons generations of adoptees have to offer.
Masami Kawai
Masami Kawai is a Los Angeles-born filmmaker of Ryukyuan descent. She was a Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Directing Fellow, participated in Gotham Project Market and Film Independent’s FastTrack. Her films have screened in various venues the Rotterdam Film Festival, LACMA, and Palm Springs ShortFest.
“Valley of the Tall Grass” – A TV/VCR combo set is thrown out, but it survives and circulates through the lives of various working-class indigenous characters of color in an Oregon town. They find forgotten memories, love, and connection through this seemingly obsolete object.
Courtney Loo
Courtney Loo is a writer-director & entrepreneur. She’s a 2024 Sundance Institute Screenwriting Fellow and 2023 Almanack Screenwriting Fellow. Her latest short premiered at SXSW 2023. As an entrepreneur, Loo co-founded a management company that reps multi-platinum musicians. Bangbang Teahouse will be her debut feature.
“Bangbang Teahouse” – Hayley and Mimi – a Chinese American music duo – stop at absolutely nothing to convince their label to release their long-awaited album over a raucous, self-destructive 48 hours in New York City.
Jess dela Merced
Jess dela Merced is a Sundance Institute Episodic Lab fellow, a director in the Disney-ABC Directing Program, one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, a SFFILM Rainin grant recipient, and a Hamptons Screenwriters Lab participant. Her recent writing credits include a feature comedy for Sony.
“Spares” – An aging Filipina mother’s belief in putting family first is put to the ultimate test when she unexpectedly reignites her passion for bowling, setting off a high-stakes journey of self-discovery.
Jing Wang
Jing Wang, was born in China, where her name means “quiet,” Wang has made a stark contrast by vocally advocating through her films. They are powerful stories about the immigrant experience, which highlight her commitment to both her craft and her community.
“Ride with Delivery Workers – The film explores the unseen lives of NYC’s Chinese immigrant delivery workers through filmmaker Wang’s intimate lens, as they fight for e-bike legalization, and through the traumas the pandemic inflicts on these frontline heroes.
Emily Yue
Emily Yue is a filmmaker and film editor from the New England area. They are currently directing their first feature documentary, editing an upcoming feature documentary, are a 2024 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellow, and recently were a 2023 Sundance Institute Contributing Editor Fellow.
“BLOWW” – Welcome to the brawl of the century! “BLOWW,” a queer feminist wrestling league, fights to smash the patriarchy, build community, and make rent to save one of Boston’s iconic subcultures. In and out of the ring, they always punch up.
The six Scholarship recipients are:
Candace Ho
Candace Ho is a Taiwanese American filmmaker based in Los Angeles whose work centers around womanhood, coming of age, and navigating the gray areas of life through a comedic and absurdist lens. She was a 2023 Indeed/Hillman Grad Rising Voices fellow, a 2021 Armed With a Camera fellow, and a 2021 Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles fellow.
“Pixel Affection” – When a petty woman discovers that her younger sister is secretly a successful influencer, she spirals into the world of internet hate culture and becomes her sister’s biggest troll in an attempt to keep her close.
Chheangkea Ieng
Chheangkea Ieng is a Cambodia-born filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He is currently developing his first feature film, “Little Phnom Penh,” which was selected for HamptonsFilm Lab, MunichFilmUp, and New York University Purple List. Recently, his short film “Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites” won the Short Film Jury Award in International Fiction at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Ieng has an MFA in filmmaking at New York University Graduate Film.
“Little Phnom Penh” – Spanning two ever-changing decades, from post-Khmer Rouge Phnom Penh to early 2000s California, a Cambodian woman grapples with her identity, family, and love amidst profound cultural and historical upheavals.
Steven Raven Liang
Steven Raven Liang is a community-based, punk, DIY writer-director from the working-class town of Rosemead, CA. Their current work explores the ripple effects of incarceration on Asian American communities. Previously, they worked as a writer-producer at Warner Bros. Television.
“Godfrey’s Time Out” – A formerly-incarcerated man must navigate rebuilding his life in today’s Asian America after prison leaves him feeling like an immigrant all over again.
Ethan Newmyer
Ethan Newmyer is a Korean-American writer, director, and photographer from Chula Vista, California. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Cinema & Media Studies. Newmyer co-wrote the short film “Last Days of the Lab,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Loma” – A competitive swimmer becomes disillusioned with her purpose after an injury forces her to move back home and return to her high school job as a pool lifeguard.
Jot Sahi
Jot Sahi is a filmmaker and writer based in Brooklyn. Previously, she worked as a documentary associate producer at Multitude Films. Sahi is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is currently a student at Cardozo School of Law. Her work explores her experiences as a Punjabi-American woman.
“Project: “Mother Tongue”- When Alzheimer’s sufferer Amanat loses her grasp of English, her daughter Meera struggles to care for her in their native language of Punjabi and faces losing the closest relationship in her life.
Sonejuhi
Sonejuhi is a filmmaker working in TV and film. Her films have screened at several film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and SXSW. Her debut feature, “Stray Dolls” won Tribeca Film Institute’s IWC award.
Project: “Seven Days in Rome” – At the height of the War on Terror, an Indian American diplomat in Rome is unmasked as a covert agent, and accused of masterminding a CIA kidnapping plot. Inspired by a true story.
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