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AAC-Breaking-Boundaries

Breaking Boundaries: 25 Years of AAPI Voices in Film & Television

The DGA Asian American Committee (AAC) honored decades of achievement on May 3, as members gathered in the Guild’s Los Angeles theater for their annual event. Under the title, Breaking Boundaries: 25 Years of AAPI Voices in Film & Television, the program featured a two-part celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islanders who have made an impact in film and television.

Following a welcome by DGA Associate National Executive Director/Western Executive Director Rebecca Rhine, the current AAC Co-Chairs Maureen Bharoocha Alan Chu and Michael Goi and Alternate Co-Chair Debbie Formoso welcomed past Co-Chairs Kai Kim, Lily Mariye, Kevin Berlandi, Steven Kung, Lisa Chu, Ron Dempsey, Babu Subramanian, Chris Tashima, Ken Wada, Henry Chan, Victor Ho and Geeta Malik to the stage in order of most recent to earliest tenures, for a commemoration of their service to the Committee and the audience was treated to a screening of a highlight reel of past events.

AAPI DGA Nominees

AAC-Breaking-BoundariesIn the first panel of the day, 2024 DGA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs nominees Michael Goi (Avatar: The Last Airbender, “Aang”) and Jennifer Phang (Descendants: The Rise of Red) and three-time Reality Programs nominee Rich Kim (Lego Masters, “Is It Brick?” 2023, Lego Masters, “Jurass-brick World” 2022 and Lego Masters, “Mega City Block” 2020) engaged in a conversation moderated by Alternate Co-Chair Formoso.

Illustrated by clips from their work, the panelists discussed the creative vision behind their acclaimed films and television shows.

Speaking about his directorial approach on Lego Masters, Kim said, “I try to use a lot of theater staging techniques. I like having set pieces connected to motors and things flying in and out and big cues happening all at the same time with lighting and using different cinema lenses. We were trying to create this 360-degree immersive world. You are constantly figuring out unique and interesting ways of how to capture this coverage without disrupting this immersive world, but also getting your shots.”

Goi recalled the intense search for his lead actor for Avatar: The Last Airbender. “I was an Executive Producer, as well as Producing Director for the show. We looked all over the world for Aang. We had Casting Directors all over the world and as it turns out Gordon lived just four miles away from the studio in Vancouver. When I am introducing a character, I like to do something visual that is special for them. With Gordon, we wanted to have that mystery of him and establish him.”

For Phang, teamwork truly made the dream work while filming Descendants: The Rise of Red. “I had the privilege to bring in an amazing team. From consumer products, stunts, choreography – my Assistant Director would chase me and say things like, ‘We need to know who turns pink in “Life Is Sweeter.”’ and I said, ‘Yes, we need to have the pink meeting.’ So, we would sit down and brainstorm together and we had to find that moment in between everything. The bigger answer is that you get yourself a great team.”

Spotlight Conversation

AAC-Breaking-BoundariesThe Spotlight Conversation featured Directors Andrew Ahn (The Wedding Banquet, Bridgerton, Generation), Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, Twisters, The Mandalorian) and Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets, The Invitation, Girlfight) discussing the art of filmmaking and offering valuable insights into their creative processes and the paths they’ve taken to become master storytellers in a conversation moderated by Co-Chair Bharoocha.

Looking back at her earlier career, Kusama noted, “There was a point — probably working on Jennifer’s Body — that I understood my primary role is to have a relationship with the actors that offers them a place for them to feel trusted, guided, free, and open. The only way I can show up for them in that way, is to mirror that back to them. Now more than anything I try not to control what I see right away, but just see it and feel it and check in with myself to see, ‘Am I feeling anything?’ I’m always relearning to be present with what’s happening between actors, or with a single actor. Do they feel like they are dropped into a body in time and space? It’s super simple but weirdly hard to kind of drop in with another person and be there with them.”

Ahn revealed what he has learned from working in television. “The first time I used a process trailer was on a TV show. The first time I did stunts was on a TV show. The first time I worked with an intimacy coordinator was on a TV show. It’s a great training ground if you get that opportunity.”

“I did a lot of micro budget features before Minari,’ Chung recalled. “That was the first time jumping above 1M for me, and I just remember there was already a culture in place the way indie crew and people operate. That was a learning curve, thinking, ‘Okay, there’s a system here.’ From there, I did The Mandalorian, and that was a very helpful steppingstone to figure out how things work. But it felt like the same thing, where there’s already a culture in place. There’s different players and every single person has a certain expectation that if you’re going to do something different, you have to talk to them and explain things. But it does feel like a different art form, a different beast. I like the studio system because it feels like a massive circus, everyone’s a little crazy and it’s fun to go in there and be a part of it. I wonder, can we get into this bigger system and try to do something interesting with it?”


See videos from this event in the gallery below.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
AAPI DGA Nominees
 
Michael Goi
Goi’s directorial credits include the feature films Megan Is Missing and Voyeur; and episodes of Big Sky, Sexy Urban Legends, Pretty Little Liars and American Horror Story. He was nominated for the 2024 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs for his pilot episode “Aang” for the series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Goi currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Asian American Committee, the DGA Special Projects Committee and the DGA Television Diversity Task Force and served as an alternate to both the DGA National Board and Western Directors Council. He has been a DGA member since 2015.
 
Rich Kim
Kim’s directorial credits include episodes of Recipe for Change, Master Chef, Master Chef Jr, Is It Cake?, Dr. Seuss Baking Show, Wipeout, Family Game Fight, Foodtastic, Making It, Let's Talk, Project Runway, Skin Wars, The Briefcase, Tough Love, Shedding for the Wedding and Awake: The Million Dollar Game. He has been nominated three times for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs: in 2023 for Lego Masters, “Is It Brick?,” in 2022 for Lego Masters, “Jurass-brick World” and in 2020 for Lego Masters, “Mega City Block.” Kim has been a DGA member since 2009.
 
Jennifer Phang
Phang’s directorial credits include the Sundance Dramatic Jury Prize-winning feature, Advantageous; the pilots for The Secret of Sulphur Springs and The Boys; and episodes of The Flight, Foundation and Resident Alien. She served as the Director and Co-Executive Producer on Descendants: The Rise of Red, which garnered her a DGA nomination for the 2024 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. Phang has been a DGA member since 2016.
 
Debbie Formoso (moderator)
Formoso has worked on countless narrative and commercial projects for over 20 years including ads for major studios like Disney and ABC, as well as prominent brands such as Land Rover, Stella Artois and Powerade. Her teaser promo for Disney's American Born Chinese won a bronze award at the 2023 Clios. Her short film Nagpapanggap premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Short Film at the Hawaiian International Film Festival. A DGA member since 2021, Formoso is an active participant of the Women's Steering and Disability Committees and currently serves as the Alternate Co-Chair of the Asian American Committee.
 
Spotlight Conversation
 

Andrew Ahn
Ahn’s directorial credits include the feature films The Wedding Banquet, Fire Island, Driveways, Lost L.A.and Spa Night; and episodes of Deli Boys, Bridgerton, Generation, Pride, MacGyver, Gentefied and This Close. He has been a DGA member since 2019.

 

Lee Isaac Chung
Chung’s directorial credits include the feature films Munyurangabo, Lucky Life, Abigail Harm and Twisters; and episodes of The Mandalorian and Skeleton Crew. He was nominated for the 2020 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for his feature, Minari. Chung has been a DGA member since 2021.

 

Karyn Kusama
Kusama’s directorial credits include the feature films Destroyer, The Invitation, Jennifer's Body and Æon Flux; and episodes of The Terror: The Devil in Silver, Dead Ringers, Halt and Catch Fire, The Outsider, The Man in the High Castle, Billions and Casual. In 2000, she took home the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award for her debut feature, Girlfight. A DGA member since 2004, Kusama also serves on the Independent Directors Committee.

 
Maureen Bharoocha (moderator)
Bharoocha’s directorial credits include the feature films The Prank and Golden Arm; and episodes of Saved by the Bell, Drama Club and Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin. She was previously a segment Director for three seasons on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Bharoocha has been a DGA member since 2016 and serves as a Co-Chair of the Asian American Committee and co-created of the Women’s Steering Committee’s WSC Squad Mentorship Program.
 

About the Asian American Committee:

The Asian American Committee (AAC) was created as a networking group to provide a forum for interests and issues that concern Asian-American Guild members. Through outreach efforts in the entertainment industry that emphasize career development and skills enhancement, the committee provides a variety of networking opportunities as well as screenings, seminars and discussions with industry professionals. The current AAC Co-Chairs are Directors Kabir Akhtar, Maureen Bharoocha and Kai Kim.

Pictures & Video

photos by Elisa Haber







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8/26/2025 - 9/1/2025

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