The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) and Janet Yang Productions have awarded four filmmakers grants to make short films through the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge. The initiative aims to support Asian Pacific Islander women and non-binary filmmakers, providing funding and industry exposure at a time when Hollywood diversity gains are described as uneven.

Each selected filmmaker will receive $25,000: Keshni Kashyap Nilsson for “The Shoe Burglars”, Nayon Cho for “Stigma”, Patricia Lee for “Wasted Resources” and Tiffany Lin for “Hunger”. The fifth-year programme’s jury includes Auli‘i Cravalho and “Anora” producer Samantha Quan, and will conclude with a November screening; an earlier supported short by Liz Sargent later became her Sundance-recognised feature “Take Me Home”.