Jurors & Awards

Emerging Director – Narrative Feature

Emerging Director – Documentary Feature

Excellence in Short Filmmaking – Narrative

Excellence in Short Filmmaking – Documentary

Excellence in Ones to Watch Youth Category

Excellence in Music Video

Audience Choice Award – Narrative Feature

FUTURE DATE
Stanley Wong, USA

Audience Choice Award – Documentary Feature

ASHIMA
Kenji Tsukamoto, USA

Audience Choice Award – Documentary Feature

UME OR (THE WILL TO FLY BLIND)
Sam Kumiko Sheridan, USA/Japan

Sikay Tang Critical Lens Award

Jury for Excellence in Short Filmmaking – Documentary

From left to right: Pulkit Datta, Kitty Hu, Chithra Jeyaram

Pulkit Datta
Pulkit Datta is a producer, director, and film programmer based in New York. His films have screened at festivals such as Toronto, Tribeca, Atlanta, and more. Datta’s key credits include ISRAELISM, INVISIBLE, DO WE BELONG?, and the upcoming climate activism doc series VS. GOLIATH and fiction feature JERSEY BOY. Datta has been a Producing Fellow at the Center for Asian American Media as well as Impact Partners. He is active in the filmmaking community, establishing initiatives to nurture underrepresented talent, build alternative distribution strategies, and curate for film festivals.

Kitty Hu
Kitty Hu is a queer, Chinese documentary filmmaker. As the daughter of immigrants, Hu’s work amplifies character-driven stories that reflect the work of our social movements, exploring topics such as labor, housing, culture, migration, and climate. She recently directed the Emmy-nominated L.A. Rebellion: A Cinematic Movement (PBS Artbound) and produced Taste the Nation (Hulu), Wild Hope (PBS), Take Out (HBO Max), and America Outdoors (PBS). She is also a proud member of BGDM and A-Doc.

Chithra Jeyaram
Chithra Jeyaram is a physical-therapist-turned-filmmaker with an MFA in Film from the University of Texas at Austin. Her work dismantles stereotypes by centering narratives that illuminate the perspectives, struggles, and complexities of the most fundamental social unit: the family. Her upcoming film, Our Daughters, examines open adoption through immigrant eyes. Jeyaram is an alumna of Visions du Réel Rough Cut Lab, Chicken & Egg (Egg)celerator Lab, BGDM Artist Fellowship, Gotham Documentary Fellowship, and Jerome Foundation.

Excellence in Ones to Watch Youth Category

From left to right: Wu-Ching Chang, David Tanh, Sen-I Yu

Wu-Ching Chang
Wu-Ching Chang, a world-class animation director with an MA from the Royal College of Art, serves as an adjunct assistant professor specializing in Communication Design at Shih Chien University, Taiwan. She also works as a judge at the FFTG Awards, and her globally screened films address women’s issues, modernity, and humanistic views through interviews and artistic practice. Her animated film, My Grandmother Is An Egg, won a Jury Special Mention at the Atlanta Film Festival and was selected for Animafest Zagreb and Flickerfest.

David Tanh
David Tanh serves as the Partnerships Director at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. A Teochew Chinese American and child of Cambodian refugees, he has a deep passion for storytelling. He has contributed to the Harvey Award-nominated Once Upon A Time Machine and the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream. Tanh is dedicated to promoting and preserving the visions and voices of AANHPI storytellers.

Sen-I Yu
Sen-I Yu is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York, originally from Taiwan. Her feature directorial debut, My Heavenly City, was selected for the 43rd Hawaii International Film Festival and was nominated for the NETPAC Award. The film had theatrical releases in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and limited releases in the United States, UK, and Canada, achieving $1.2 million at the box office. She serves as an assistant professor in Cinema Production at Ithaca College.

Jury for Excellence in Music Video

From left to right: Kenzo Le, James Mao, Alex Porat

Kenzo Le
Kenzo Le is an LA-based cinematographer and producer committed to creating intentional, meaningful work. As a first-generation Vietnamese-American, Le seeks to grow his community and foster the next generation. His visual style is sensory-driven, imaginative, and impressionistic. He is the founder and creative director of Crimson Edge, a film production company dedicated to uplifting underrepresented directors and communities through their distinct visual work. He has cultivated a love for narrative shorts and features, resulting in several distributions and features with CryptTV, LALIFF, and Outfest.

James Mao
James Mao, also known as Mamesjao, is a multifaceted artist, director, and creative director renowned for his work in music videos, multimedia campaigns, and visual art. Born in Shenzhen and raised between China, Canada, and the US, Mao’s bicultural background informs his unique aesthetic. He gained fame with innovative animated sequences for Western artists like Lil Uzi Vert and Kehlani, leading to collaborations with 88rising directing top Asian artists including Jackson Wang and (G)I-dle. Known for his edgy and experimental style, Mao continues to challenge traditional visual norms in the music video industry.

Alex Porat
Alex Porat is a magnetic force. She delivers lighthearted pop with serious skill, effortlessly combining memorable melodies with fresh electronic production and crystalline vocal delivery. She first gained a strong following by posting covers on YouTube. Now, with only a few years of solo releases under her belt, she has amassed over 120 million streams on DSPs, 1.1 million YouTube subscribers, and more than 200 million total YouTube views.

Sikay Tang Critical Lens Award

This year, we have created a special award, the Sikay Tang Critical Lens Award, to go to a filmmaker whose documentary explores complex issues with an innovative perspective. This Award is in honor of longtime ACV friend, filmmaker, and teacher, Sikay Tang, who passed away last year from cancer.

For more than 20 years, Sikay was a photographer and filmmaker, who also served as editor for numerous critically acclaimed features, short films, and television series. However, to us here in NYC, she was first and foremost a pillar of our Asian American creative community. 

Born in Hong Kong and growing up in New York, themes of her work include belonging, acceptance, cultural identity, and the loving communities we create for ourselves. Sikay was one of ACV’s greatest friends and supporters, and we are so honored to share her with you at this year’s Festival. 

Jury for Sikay Tang Critical Lens Award

From left to right: Judy Doctoroff, Sam Pollard, Jean Tsien

Judy Doctoroff
Judy Doctoroff was privileged to work with Sikay Tang on multiple occasions. An award-winning executive producer with more than 30 years of experience, Judy most recently served as Managing Director of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism initiative committed to improved climate coverage.

Doctoroff also worked with Bill Moyers as President and Chief Operating Officer of Public Affairs Television, and played a critical role in the production of innovative and courageous works on subjects ranging from the politics and the environment to the role of the media in democracy to the world of ideas.

Sam Pollard
SAM POLLARD is an accomplished feature film and television video editor, and documentary producer/director. He has collaborated with Spike Lee on a number of films, including Four Little Girls and When The Levees Broke.

Since 2012, Mr. Pollard has completed a number of projects, including Slavery By Another Name (PBS), August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand (American Masters), and Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me (American Masters). In recent years, his work includes the series, Why We Hate (Discovery Channel) and Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children (HBO), and the film MLK/FBI.

Jean Tsien
Jean Tsien has worked in documentaries for 40 years as an editor, producer, and consultant. She was executive producer for PLASTIC CHINA (Golden Horse Award for Best Editing) and PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE (SXSW Grand Jury Award).

She has received Peabody Awards for her work on the PBS series ASIAN AMERICANS and the Emmy Award-winning 76 DAYS. Recent projects include FREE CHOL SOO LEE and HBO’s aka Mr. Chow. Jean is a recipient of numerous awards, including: the Art of Editing Mentorship Award (Sundance Institute); the Lifetime Achievement Award (DOC NYC); and the Luminary Award (Doc10).