On February 11, the Asian American Committee’s (AAC) meeting included the event, Amplifying Asian Voices in Entertainment. In a conversation moderated by Director member Tiffany Frances, Gold House Vice President of Entertainment & Media Tiffany Chao, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) Executive Director Michelle Sugihara and Product of Culture CEO Archana Misra Jain shared the many ways each organization works to amplify the Asian American entertainment community within film and television.
During the conversation, Chao noted Gold House’s beginning as a grassroots movement centered around promoting John M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, and later Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, with their commercial success providing fiscal proof of AAPI-led projects as viable investments. Sugihara shared the history of CAPE, which champions diversity by educating, connecting and empowering AAPI artists and leaders through its nine programs including a rising filmmakers fund, writers fellowship, showrunner incubator, animation director’s accelerator, and more. Jain highlighted how Product of Culture started as a community platform for the South Asian demographic but quickly became an agency during COVID when so much need was present in the filmmaker community and now focuses on the Black, Indigenous and People of Color community at large. All three organizations regularly collaborate to provide networking opportunities and build community within the entertainment industry.
About the Asian American Committee:
The Asian American Committee (AAC) was created as a networking group to provide a forum for interests and issues that concern Asian-American Guild members. Through outreach efforts in the entertainment industry that emphasize career development and skills enhancement, the committee provides a variety of networking opportunities as well as screenings, seminars and discussions with industry professionals.