Notable Asians in American Indie Film

Asian American mumblecore: Wayne Wang's "Chan is Missing" (1982)

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I've put together a list of notable industry movers and shakers who traffic in the American narrative independent film world and also happen to be Asian. This list is not meant to ghettoize the people on it, but merely to call attention to their good work. They all belong on general "notable film people" lists too!

This list is totally off the top of my head, so it is far from comprehensive (apologies in advance to the many I've missed). Emphasis is on "American," "narrative," and "indie," so it's thin on international, documentary, and studio folks. I also haven't included many people from the Asian American film festival community because there are too many to name, but check out the list of festivals here. And I have not included crew, actors, or directors for that same reason, but I would like to point out one editor, one DP, and one director whom you should especially keep your eye on. ;)

All of these folks should be on your radar--Google them!

PRODUCERS
(for the sake of simplicity, I'm only listing one company or film)

* Joan Huang & Jimmy Tsai - Cherry Sky Films
* Karin Chien - dGenerate Films, 2010 Independent Spirit Producers Award Winner
* James Choi - Joint Body
* Soojin Chung - Escape From Tomorrow
* Gina Kwon - The Future, 2005 Independent Spirit Producers Award Winner

* In-Ah Lee - Au revoir Taipei, Independent Spirit Producers Award Nominee
* Melissa Lee - Bends
* Reuben Lim - Saving Lincoln
* Sophia Lin - Take Shelter, 2012 Independent Spirit Producers Award Winner
* Amy Lo - Battle of the Year
* Geoffrey Quan - Detonator
* Shrihari Sathe - It Felt Like Love
* Anish Savjani - Blue Ruin, 2011 Independent Spirit Producers Award Winner
* Emily Ting - The Kitchen
* Derrick Tseng - Prince Avalanche, Independent Spirit Producers Award Nominee
* Peter Phok - Beneath
* Brian Yang - Linsanity
* Nina Yang Bongiovi - Fruitvale Station

SALES
* Abby Davis - Preferred Content
* Jason Ishikawa - Film Sales Company
* Kevin Iwashina - Preferred Content
* Winnie Lau - Fortissimo
* David Koh - Submarine
* Peter Trinh - ICM Partners

DISTRIBUTION
* Angel An - Samuel Goldwyn Films
* Marcus Hu - Strand Releasing
* Christine Kim - YouTube
* Laura Kim - Inside Job
* Mona Kwan - Jaguar
* Josie Liang - FilmDistrict
* Lejo Pet - Exclusive Media
* Chan Phung - Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions
* Ellie Wen - CBS Films
* Ryan Werner - Consultant, formerly IFC Films

EXHIBITION / FESTIVALS
* Rose Kuo - Film Society of Lincoln Center
* Anderson Le - Hawaii International Film Festival
* Dennis Lim - Film Society of Lincoln Center (see also: Press)
* Konrad Ng - Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program
* David Ninh - Publicist, Film Society of Lincoln Center
* Rajendra Roy - Museum of Modern Art
* Sean Uyehara - San Francisco Film Society
* Rosie Wong - Sundance Industry Office
* Kim Yutani - Sundance Film Festival

PRESS / CRITICS / PUBLICITY
* Chris Chang - Film Comment
* Justin Chang - Variety
* Irene Cho - The Daily Buzz with Eugene Hernandez
* Ryan Koo - No Film School
* Michelle Kung - Speakeasy, Wall Street Journal
* Kevin B. Lee - Fandor
* Nathan Lee - Film Comment
* Dennis Lim - NY Times, LA Times (see also: Exhibition)
* David Magdael - David Magdael & Associates
* Tim Wu - Slate
* Jada Yuan - New York Magazine

FILMMAKER SUPPORT
* Stefanie Huie - Outreach Consultant, A3 Foundation Fellowship at Sundance Institute
* Jane Hwang - Film Independent
* Anne Lai - Sundance Creative Producing Initiatives Director
* Thuy Tran - Consultant, formerly USA Artists