AAPI Heritage Month Celebration

By Kelley Williams, Brett Banducci, Yoomi Hong
May 23, 2023
— 2 min read
By Kelley Williams, Brett Banducci, Yoomi Hong
May 23, 2023
— 2 min read

In honor of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Luminate Film & TV has selected talent and projects that spotlight the vibrancy of the Asian diaspora.

The talent and projects featured this month represent only a small fraction of the diversity of the Asian experience and cultures. The contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander talent, both behind and in front of the camera, enrich the tapestry of America’s cultural landscape. Asian voices and narratives are taking center stage, as exemplified by the record-breaking success of Netflix’s Squid Games and the groundbreaking achievement of South Korea’s Parasite becoming the first non-English project to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Adding to this momentum, Everything Everywhere All At Once won the Academy Award winner for Best Picture and India’s RRR won Best Original Song – Motion Picture at the Oscars and was a 2023 Golden Globes nominee for Best Motion Picture. These successes, and the project and talent highlighted here, remind Hollywood that the Asian experience and culture is not a monolith.

The Luminate Film & TV database offers a comprehensive selection of the top 100 projects for film, TV, and digital content originating from South Korea, Japan, and India. Our coverage spans from 2015 to the present, and as of last year, we have expanded our scope to include forward-looking data, providing information on projects at various stages of production.

The film industry in India, commonly referred to as Bollywood, is centered in Mumbai. Luminate Film & TV recognizes and acknowledges the significance of diverse regional cinema industries within India. We have introduced different arena tags for specific regional film industries, such as Kollywood for Tamil cinema, Pollywood for Punjabi cinema, Tollywood for Bengali and Telugu cinema, and Mollywood for Malayalam and Marathi cinema. These tags allow us to highlight and honor the unique contributions of each regional industry and provide comprehensive coverage to our users. These stories matter, and Luminate Film & TV is thrilled to share them this month as clients continue to explore throughout the year!

AAPI Heritage Month Project Spotlight. 
1. 'BEEF' - Netflix. Release Date: 4/6/2023. 'BEEF' follows the aftermath of a road range incident between two strangers, Danny Cho, a failing contractor with a chip on his shoulder, goes head-to-head with Amy Lau, a self-made entrepreneur with a picturesque life. The increasing stakes of their feud unravel their lives and relationships in this darkly comedic and deeply moving series. 
2. 'Never Have I Ever' - Netflix. Release Date: 6/8/2023. A coming-of-age comedy series about the complicated life of a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl, inspired by Kaling's own childhood. 
3. 'Jimmy O. Yang: Guess How Much?' - Prime Video. Release Date: 5/2/2023. A follow-up to 'GOOD DEAL', Yang's beloved first global special, 'GUESS HOW MUCH?' dives into various topics including love languages, loser friends, and negotiating with his Asian parents. 
4. 'Past Lives' - A24. Release Date: 6/2/2023. A budding childhood romance between Nora and Hae Sung, at a primary school in Seoul, ends abruptly when Nora's family emigrates to Canada. Twelve years later, Nora, now a playwriting student in New York, notices that Hae Sung's been searching social media for her. They reconnect online and imagine a reunion. Another dozen years pass and they finally meet in New York.
Source: Luminate Film & TV
AAPI Heritage Month Top Selected AAPI Talent. 
1. Tan France - Job Title: Talent; ScreenScore: 45; Projects: 'Queer Eye', 'Next in Fashion'. 
2. Ali Wong - Job Title: Writer, Producer, Talent; ScreenScore: 72; Projects: 'Human Resources', 'BEEF'. 
3. Steven Yeun - Job Title: Documentary Producer, Producer, Talent; ScreenScore: 79; Projects: 'BEEF', 'Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV'. 
4. Jimmy O. Yang - Job Title: Writer, Producer, Talent; ScreenScore: 57; Projects: 'American Born Chinese', '80 for Brady'. 
5. Nicole Scherzinger - Job Title: Talent; ScreenScore: 57; Projects: 'That's My Jam', 'The Masked Singer'. 
6. Jason Momoa - Job Title: Producer, Alternative Producer, Writer, Documentary Producer, Director, Talent; ScreenScore: 80; Projects: 'Fast X', 'The Climb'. 
7. Merle Dandridge - Job Title: Talent; ScreenScore: 55; Projects: 'The Last of Us', 'Truth Be Told'. 
8. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan - Job Title: Talent; ScreenScore: 31; Projects: 'Never Have I Ever'. 
9. Utkarsh Ambudkar - Job Title: Producer, Writer, Talent; ScreenScore: 60; Projects: 'Never Have I Ever', 'The Drop'. 
10. Mindy Kaling - Job Title: Director, Writer, Showrunner, Producer, Talent; ScreenScore: 77; Projects: 'Never Have I Ever', 'Velma'. 
11. Celine Song - Job Title: Writer, Director; ScreenScore: N/A; Projects: 'Past Lives'. 
12. Hong Chau - Job Title: Talent; ScreenScore: 75; Projects: 'Showing Up', 'The Whale'.
Source: Luminate Film & TV

Upcoming

By Chris Muratore
November 19, 2024
— 3 min read

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