Gold House— the nonprofit organization that seeks to promote Asian-led and multicultural films— is launching a new initiative focused on awards season.
The Gold List is a collaboration between CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) and Gold Open, Gold House’s movement to bring Asian-led movies box office success. The list is chosen by the Gold Open advisory council, Gold House members, CAPE board members and advisors, and other entertainment leaders. They include Walt Disney president of marketing Asad Ayaz, Black List founder Franklin Leonard and Academy officer and board governor Janet Yang.
“We know we have transformative stories; we know our films open to historic numbers — but, can we win? Films that are not dominantly English-dialogued are relegated to ‘foreign’ categories, irrespective of their stories, where they’re filmed and their talents’ origins. However, over 74 percent of the nation’s two fastest-growing populaces—the Latinx and Asian communities—speak a language other than English at home,” says Bing Chen, president and co-founder of Gold House.
The awards race has long left out non-white talent, with only four films with Asian leading actors and stories— Parasite, Slumdog Millionaire, The Last Emperor, and Gandhi— having won best picture at the Academy Awards. Three out of those four received zero acting nominations.
Last year, the HFPA placed awards contender The Farewell in the running for the foreign-language Golden Globe and did the same with this year’s Minari, because both films were majority in a non-English language. Prominent industry figures have continued to take issue with the classifications given that both movies were financed and distributed by American companies, and created and starring American talent.
“Gold List seeks to modernize the industry’s embrace of today’s audiences by mitigating the discrepancy between APIs’ creative and commercial excellence versus their dearth of critical honors. By ensuring filmmakers and talent receive due recognition, the increased awareness allows for more inclusive content which benefits all multicultural audiences,” added Chen.
The inaugural Gold List includes Minari and Sound of Metal for best picture, as well as consideration for The Half of It, First Cow, and Nomadland.
As a part of the new initiative, Gold House and CAPE are putting on a slate of exclusive conversations with stars and creatives behind the films. That lineup and can found here, along with the full list of Gold List selections, which are also below:
Best Picture
Minari and Sound of Metal
Honorable Mentions: The Half of It, The White Tiger, Yellow Rose
Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
Honorable Mentions: Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), Diane Paragas (Yellow Rose), Alice Wu (The Half of It), Alan Yang (Tigertail)
Best Actor
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) and Steven Yeun (Minari)
Honorable Mentions: Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield), Harry Shum Jr. (All My Life)
Best Actress
Yeri Han (Minari) and Leah Lewis (The Half of It)
Honorable Mentions: Hong Chau (Driveways), Tsai Chin (Lucky Grandma), Eva Noblezada (Yellow Rose)
Best Supporting Actor
Alan Kim (Minari) and Orion Lee (First Cow)
Honorable Mentions: Lucas Jaye (Driveways), Tzi Ma (Mulan), Rajkummar Rao (The White Tiger)
Best Supporting Actress
Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) and Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari)
Honorable Mentions: Priyanka Chopra Jonas (The White Tiger), Gong Li (Mulan), Lea Salonga (Yellow Rose)
Best Original Screenplay
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) and Alice Wu (The Half of It)
Honorable Mentions: Mong-Hong Chung and Yao-Sheng Chang (A Sun), Diane Paragas (Yellow Rose), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca), Alan Yang (Tigertail)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
Best Documentary Feature
Be Water and A Thousand Cuts
Honorable Mentions: 76 Days, The Donut King, The Social Dilemma
Best Animated Feature
Bombay Rose and Over the Moon
Honorable Mentions: Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, On-Gaku: Our Sound, A Whisker Away
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