The inaugural cohort of ten filmmakers will receive unrestricted funding, collaborative mentorship with established filmmakers and industry executives.
Gold House has initiated a collaborative effort with various organisations in partnership with the Sundance Institute, aiming to provide tangible support for filmmakers from historically excluded backgrounds.
The Sundance Institute | One House Filmmakers Fund, supported by the East-West Bank Foundation, offers $10,000 in unrestricted financing, coupled with mentorship, training, and programmatic promotion. The selection committee, comprising representatives from Gold House, Sundance Institute, East West Bank Foundation, GLAAD, the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, Latinx House, and RespectAbility, carefully chose the filmmakers.
In a statement, East West Bank chair and CEO Dominic Ng said: “The East West Bank Foundation is proud to be a founding partner of the One House Filmmakers Fund. One of our main goals is to advance diversity and inclusion in all industries, including entertainment and the arts. Strengthening storytelling by diverse filmmakers is a powerful way to build bridges between communities.”
The inaugural One House cohort features Bhutanese filmmaker Arun Bhattarai, along with nine other talented filmmakers and their projects, covering a diverse range of themes and perspectives.
Sundance Institute Artist Accelerator Programme director Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs added: “Sundance Institute has been championing artists to tell stories that reflect their lived realities for over 40 years. We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Gold House to provide vital funding to multicultural artists working in fiction and nonfiction to advance their projects and increase representation on and off screen. The ten filmmakers selected for the inaugural year of the One House Filmmaker Fund are important voices working in independent film today, and we are thrilled to be able to continue elevating these voices.”
The One House fund is part of Gold House’s second phase, known as Gold Bridge, which focuses on making connections across industries and cultural communities. Gold House’s efforts extend beyond the film industry, including the Gold Open theatre buyout model, the One House Leadership Coalition, and partnerships with various organisations to host events like the Multicultural House Party at Sundance.
Gold House Creative Equity Fund general manager Christine Yi commented: “Communities demand that the world we watch reflect the world we live in – on both sides of the camera. We’re thankful for the financial support of the East West Bank Foundation and the partnership of our peer-leading multicultural organizations as we invest formidable capital, resources and platforms to create a first-of-its-kind investment and convening vehicle for the next generation of pioneering multicultural filmmakers. If we’re stronger together, then we’d better start now.”
