ABOUT US
Mission
The Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Minnesotan Film Collective is an award-winning initiative to create, promote, and empower underrepresented and low-income filmmakers in Minnesota. We will build our community’s artistic and economic vitality through filmmaking by providing free programs throughout the Twin Cities.
History
The Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Minnesotan Film Collective is an initiative to create space and opportunities for the APIA filmmaking community in the Twin Cities. We bring together APIA (as well as our POC and Native family) filmmakers who are in need of a space to write their screenplays, produce new film works, and receive criticism. We solely focus on narrative-driven content in the 1/2-hour TV, hour TV, and feature film space.
There is a lack of representation of APIA narratives and there are no APIA Minnesotan narratives in mainstream media. APIAs are one of the most underrepresented groups in film, TV, and entertainment. According to the University of Southern California’s 2018 Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, APIAs only made up 3.2% of filmmakers from 2007-2017.
Our generous supporters include:
Building More Philanthropy with Purpose, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Minnesota Humanities Center, Headwaters Foundation, City of Saint Paul Cultural Star Program, In Progress, and Springboard for the Arts.
We Won an Award!
Photo by Nancy Musinguzi
The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council has awarded the APIA MN Film Collective an Arts Achievement Great Beginnings Award!
Thank you to the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and our state representative Hunter Cantrell for coming out to support us and our endeavors.
Leadership
Naomi Ko
Co-Founder / Executive Director
An award-winning filmmaker, writer, actor, and comedian. Naomi was born and raised in Minnesota to immigrant parents from South Korea, making her the most truculent and most passive person in any room. Naomi’s independent pilot presentation, Nice, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Her work has been featured on Netflix and developed by Warner Bros. Naomi is a 2017 McKnight Media Arts Fellow as well as a current Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and Finnovation Fellow. She is working on a raunch fly-fishing competition movie. She can be reached via Twitter/IG @konaomie or konaomi.com.
Melissa Vang
Co-Founder and Operations Director
Kazua Melissa Vang is a filmmaker, visual artist, photographer, and production/stage manager based in Minnesota. She has stage managed for Hmong-Lao/Lao-Hmong Friendship Play with Lazy Hmong Woman Productions and The Korean Drama Addict's Guide to Losing Your Virginity. Her most two most recent photography works were showcased at In Progress under the exhibit, “NEXUS: Honoring the Self-Taught Photographic Artist” (2016), and “Hmong Tattoo,”(2017). Her current photography project is taking portraits of Hmong refrigerators and freezers. From her collection “F R I D G E S,” a photograph from her collection was part of the 40th Anniversary We Are Hmong exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. Vang helped run the Qhia Dab Neeg Film Festival from 2015-2017, which features Hmong American films and filmmakers. She is currently developing her first short as a writer/director with the support of the Forecast Early Career Grant.
