Jerome Yoo is a Seoul-born filmmaker based in Vancouver. His films often explore complex themes of cultural identity, existentialism, and youthhood, blending surreal elements that blur the boundaries between dreams and reality. Growing up in Canada, there is a pulsating undercurrent throughout his work that conveys a profound longing to reconnect with his motherland. As part of the next generation of emerging Canadian filmmakers, Yoo’s films have received international recognition. His first feature, Mongrels (2024), won the Horizon Award for Best Emerging Canadian Director at the Vancouver International Film Festival; and both the FIPRESCI Award and First Feature Special Jury Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Born in Korea, raised in Malaysia and China, and currently based in Los Angeles, Jiwon Lee is a transnational Korean writer and director. She enjoys exploring the complexities of intimate human relationships in her work, especially in the context of multiculturalism and Asian women’s experience.

Kim J.Y. Han is a writer-director who uses narrative as a vehicle for activism. Raised in Seoul and San Francisco, Han worked in Hollywood for eight years, where she was most recently a TV development executive at NBCUniversal. Her debut short film, Champion, screened at various Oscar-qualifying festivals.

Lucy Soutter is a Korean-American independent filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. She received a BFA in screenwriting from Temple University in Philadelphia. Her first short film, Venus Man Trap (2017), premiered in Istanbul and was featured in woman-centered programming blocks in festivals around the world. Her most recent film, The Mountain Rabbit (2023), premiered at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, screened at the Cinespeak Best of Fests showcase, and earned her a place as a short film juror in the following year’s festival. She currently works as a video editor, photographer, and music video director.

Gerry Kim runs PPW Films, a production company dedicated to diverse and issue-driven storytelling. As a producer, his previous films include Iris Shim’s The House of Suh, Jennifer Kroot’s To Be Takei, and Esra Saydam and Nisan Dag’s Across the Sea. His most recent film, Fernando Frias de la Parra’s I’m No Longer Here, was released as a Netflix Original worldwide in 2020. It won 10 Ariel Awards, including Best Picture, and was shortlisted for Best International Film at the 2021 Academy Awards. Kimwas awarded the Producers Award at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards and was selected as a Creative Producing Fellow at the Sundance Institute in 2014. An alum of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program, he has also directed, written, and produced several short films, including the DGA award-winning Living the Dream. In 2024, he received the SFFILM Rainin Grant for his script Mucho Power, which will be directed by Fernando Frías de la Parra.

Chy Chi is a Korean American filmmaker with an MA from CalArts. Her thesis, How to Crack Hard-boiled Eggs, premiered at the Vienna International Film Festival. She’s in development on two projects: her feature, Eight Mysterious Qualities of the Ocean (Sundance Screenwriters Intensive Lab), and a comedy-drama series, Hot Dish (Gotham TV Series Lab).

So Young Shelly Yo is a Korean American filmmaker whose films were supported by HBO, SFFILM, Sloan, CAAM and others. Yo’s first feature, Smoking Tigers, premiered in the US Narrative Competition at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded best screenplay, best performance, and a special mention for the Nora Ephron prize. The film has screened internationally at the São Paulo International Film Festival, Warsaw International Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival, and many more. Prior to Smoking Tigers, Yo created many award-winning short films including Soft Sounds of Peeling Fruit and Moonwalk with Me. Most recently, Yo received the New Voice Award at the 2023 Austin Film Festival and was chosen for the 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough Program.

Taylor Sanghyun Lee is a NYC-based Writer and Director. He received his MFA from NYU Grad Film, where he was an Ang Lee Scholar. He is the recipient of the 2025 Spike Lee Production Grant, 2024 Sundance Ignite Fellowship, and 2023 Gotham Marcie Bloom Fellowship. His short film, Layover, starring Young Mazino, premiered at the 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM).