Kelly Yu is a Swedish-born, New Orleans raised, Chinese-American writer and director. Her work is driven by a distinct voice and visual style shaped by her experiences navigating three different cultures, as well as a fascination with finding humanity within the absurd.
Most recently, her short Plum Town was the subject of a high-profile crowdfunding campaign and is now about to embark on the festival circuit, where it won the Jury Award for best narrative short at IFF Boston. It also received support from Panavision and award winning indie production studio Vanishing Angle (Thunder Road) . The feature of the same name currently holds the rare "9" rating on the Black List and awarded her finalist for the 2021 WGA Collyer Screenwriting Fellowship and Black List Feature Lab.
She currently studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she holds the prestigious Jack Nicholson Scholarship in Writing.
Born in Singapore and raised in Hong Kong, Ally Cheng is a producer committed to collaborating with unique, diverse voices to tell compelling, universal stories that both reflect the world we live in today and the world we hope to live in tomorrow. She has an emphasis on elevating underrepresented creators to audiences worldwide and particularly loves multicultural, multilingual stories that transcend national borders. Cheng has worked in the entertainment industries in Singapore, London, and Los Angeles. A recent alumni of the Peter Stark Producing program at USC, she currently works for A24's new management/production venture 2AM.
Connor Williams is a film and TV producer based in Los Angeles. He graduated with a B.F.A. in film and TV production from the University of Southern California in 2021. He has since worked as a freelance producer and production coordinator on television shows, short and feature films, corporate videos, and photo shoots. Since graduating, he has produced three independent short films and worked on such TV projects as the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, Friday Night Vibes, and Celebrity Exorcism. He is currently a producer’s assistant on Netflix’s The Deliverance shooting in Pittsburgh, PA.
Born in Little Saigon, California, Nhan Le began his career as a storyboard artist pursuing his BA in Film and TV Production at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts. Nhan has storyboarded for thesis films, commercials, short films, and tv and feature films. His work can be found on TV shows like Ted Lasso and Umbrella Academy, Mitski music videos, and feature films with A24 and Focus Features. He is currently working with xR Technologies after teaching himself Virtual Production while being a student and freelance storyboard artist. Nhan blends his experience of visual development with his studies in 3D and game engines and pushes projects to the frontlines of storytelling technology. His insight can be seen being adopted by USC and Chapman University and their newly developing Virtual Production programs. Nhan aims to make these new technologies more accessible and less intimidating.
Born in Singapore, Shi Min began her career as a commercial interior designer and came to Los Angeles to pursue her MFA in Production Design at the American Film Institute Conservatory. Shi Min has designed numerous film projects that have been screened at film festivals including the Tribeca Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and the CAA Moebius Showcase. She has also worked on projects such as season 3 of Apple TV+ series For All Mankind and the acclaimed Sundance feature film Palm Trees & Power Lines. She is a current participant in the BAFTA Newcomers program and the ADG Production Design Initiative. Shi Min was awarded Excellence in Production Design at the 44th Asian American International Film Festival for Hello From Taiwan. With a multi-disciplinary skillset, Shi Min's goal is to push the boundaries of visual storytelling and elevate the cinematic experience.
Born in Canton, China, Philips Shum grew up surrounded by Hong Kong cinema. Since graduating from University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 2011, he has had the privilege of lensing music videos for Big Sean, 21 Savage, Kendrick Lamar and Vince Staples; television series “The Crew League” for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s cable network Revolt; short film "Ella" starring Nichole Sakura (NBC Superstore) & Dallas Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings); feature film “B-Side: For Taylor” starring Jeannine Vargas, Esther Moon (Minari), Dave Huber and James Kang (Ms. Purple). Philips also works on various projects as a colorist, as well as pursuing his passion in medium format photography. Currently he is based in Los Angeles, working to expand his work into more oversea film & music video productions as well as moving towards the director’s chair.
Darren Huang began his training in classical piano and music theory in Beijing, China at the age of 5. 10 years later, he moved to the US to pursue his studies and began composing. A former studio intern at Hans Zimmer’s production company and mentee of Jeff Beal (House of Cards), Darren has received high praise from acclaimed film composers including Harry Gregson-Williams. His composition “Threnody for the Victims of COVID-19“ was featured as part of the virtual event held by UN Chamber Music Society on 30 June 2021. Recently, he was selected to attend of the prestigious ASCAP/Columbia Film Scoring Workshop.
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​Darren also published his first novel titled “The Impermanent Light” in April 2021 in which he incorporates musical concepts and buddhist ideologies while exploring the self-transformative experience of living in a foreign country.
Eric Schloesser is a curious multi-disciplinary creative specializing in movement. After training and competing in all classical styles of dance since age 8, Eric garnered the national title of “Senior Male Best Dancer” at 18 and shortly thereafter moved to Los Angeles to pursue dancing professionally. At just 20, he danced with Lady Gaga in her Super Bowl Halftime Show, and since has been seen dancing alongside major recording artists such as Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Billie Eilish, J Balvin, & more. In 2020, the midst of the pandemic brought him a transition into the choreographer role — his self-styled (and choreographed) performance in Jessie Ware’s “Step Into My Life” music video earned him a UK Music Video Award nomination for Best Choreography. He is a current company member with the prestigious Dana Foglia Dance, a cutting edge contemporary fusion dance company from the mind of one of Beyoncé’s choreographers. Most recently, Eric has begun filmmaking and editing; “Smokestack Lightning”, his directorial debut, has been highly recognized and awarded in the festival circuit. He aims to bring his eye for movement and unique contemporary style to screens and stages alike. When not dancing, he’s probably roaming, baking, or drinking coffee.
Stephen Pfeil is a narrative & documentary film editor in New Orleans, who enjoys mildly weird & well-built films that can make you cry. On the feature narrative side he most recently edited the drama/horror feature "Shapeless" (feature debut of director Samantha Aldana). It was selected for The Gotham's 2020 Narrative Lab (formerly IFP) and premiered at Tribeca 2021. On the short film side, he recently cut "Plum Town" (directed by Kelly Yu) which premiered at NFFTY 2022, and received the Grand Jury Prize at IFFBoston 2022. His career in editorial began in the Baton Rouge, La., cutting room of “Fantastic Four” where he learned from top-tier crew on the way major motion pictures were handled. Later, he worked with Neil Mandelberg, ACE, as his assistant editor before transitioning to “sitting in the chair” as lead editor of several movies-of-the week for SyFy and Lifetime.
He is currently editing a documentary on the charter school system in New Orleans & a short film for Hulu’s Bite-Sized Huluween (2022).