HBO announced today the call for submissions for its annual Asian Pacific American Visionaries (APAV) short film competition.
Now in its fourth year, APAV serves to showcase cinematic storytellers of Asian and Pacific Islander descent awarding the top three winners with cash prizes and the opportunity to have their projects premiere on HBO.
For this year’s competition, HBO is seeking emerging storytellers whose works respond to this year’s theme of breaking barriers. Serving as the ambassador and spokesperson for the 2020 HBO Visionaries program is Shannon Lee, Executive Producer on Cinemax’s Warrior and CEO of Bruce Lee Enterprises.
Previous ambassadors have included Insecure’s Sujata Day, Westworld’s Leonardo Nam and Silicon Valley’s Jimmy O. Yang.
To view the official competition promo video featuring Shannon Lee, please click HERE.
For complete rules and guidelines, visit www.hbovisionaries.com. All submissions are due by December 1st at 11:59 p.m. PST. Follow the conversation on social media using #hbovisionaries.
Submission criteria for HBO Visionaries includes:
Running time: 10-15 minutes, inclusive of credits
Films must have been directed by a person of Asian or Pacific Islander descent
Director must be a resident of one of the 50 United States or Washington, D.C.
Films must be in the English language or contain English subtitles (common phrases acceptable)
Film must not be publicly available online through 5/31/20
Films must have commenced principal photography on or after January 1, 2019
Films must not have had any previous exhibition on broadcast or cable
Employees of HBO and other WarnerMedia entity and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate
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Judges for the competition include HBO executives and representatives from leading Asian American media organizations including the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) and Visual Communications.
“One of the most important ways that we lift each other up is by creating opportunity for one another – opportunity to share our intimate stories, opportunity to be seen and heard, opportunity to grow through one another,” says Shannon Lee. “HBO APA Visionaries is creating opportunities that didn’t exist for someone like my father back when he was making media in the 60s and 70s, and I am honored and grateful to be an ambassador for the program this year.”
“At HBO, we are proud to be one of the industry players leading the conversation around diversity in the media,” says Jackie Gagne, VP Multicultural Marketing at HBO. “Heading into the fourth year of the Visionaries competition, we are excited to continue creating a platform for emerging APA filmmakers to showcase their talents and share their unique stories with a global audience.”
“Visual Communications’ partnership with HBO continues our legacy of developing and supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists who empower communities and create cultural connections, says Francis Cullado, Executive Director, Visual Communications.
He conntinues, “As HBO paves the way in creating opportunities for artists and creators, we are appreciative of their commitment to amplify the stories of our APA filmmakers and communities. We look forward to presenting HBO APA Visionaries at the 2020 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.”
SOURCE: HBO
