Heritage in Hollywood

Today we have filmmaker Kelly Yu. Kelly is is a Swedish-born, New Orleans raised, Chinese-American writer, director, and photographer. When she was 15, Kelly founded her own freelance photo and editing business. Her list of clients has ranged from national brands like Google, and Glamour Magazine, to content creators with over 20 million subscribers. Since then, she has moved to Los Angeles to be a student at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, majoring in Film Production. Most recently, her short film Plum Town was the subject of a high-profile crowdfunding campaign and is currently on the festival circuit, where it recently received the Grand Jury Award at IFF Boston and Best Narrative Honorable Mention at NFFTY. The feature script of the same name holds the rare "9" rating on the Black List, which for those not in entertainment, is a very high achievement.

Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month with special guest Thomas Percy Kim! Thomas Percy Kim is a Korean-American writer/director. His debut stop-motion short film, TREJUR, has screened all across the world earning him many awards including the YoungArts gold medal just at the age of 17. Since then, he has gone on to sign with the agency APA, and his live-action short, SI was sold to and distributed by HBO. His latest short, BUSAN, 1999, won Best Narrative at the SFFilm Festival, qualifying it for the 2023 Oscars®. Furthermore, Thomas is developing a feature length film called ISLE CHILD with EP Jim Cummings.

To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, hear from actress Ming-Na Wen. Wen has starred in hit movies such as The Joy Luck Club and Mulan, along with TV shows such as ER, Marvel's Agents of Shield, The Mandalorian, and most recently The Book of Boba Fett and season two of HBO's Hacks. Today she'll talk about her long career, how her Asian and female identity played a role in her experience, and how her resume has grown to include such hits such as Marvel and Star Wars shows.

Welcome to the podcast Heritage in Hollywood. Here, we'll meet with industry professionals on their work and learn how their heritage and identity has shaped their experience in entertainment. Follow @VanmotoMedia on Instagram for more updates.