THE Gold Standard Arts Foundation
Commissioned Dreamer
10,000 Dreams Commissioned Dreamer
In 2021, while many American dance companies still had never hired an Asian choreographer, Phil Chan, Georgina Pazcoguin, and Jessica Tong launched the 10,000 Dreams Virtual Choreographic Festival to spotlight a different Asian American choreographer each day during the month of May (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) to spotlight these underrepresented voices. From this first festival, five choreographic commissions to major American ballet companies were offered to festival artists (four of which went to female-identifying individuals), cementing the importance of film in sharing our community's choreographic talents and getting professional opportunities in the 21st-century dance ecosystem.
The festival continues to expand through added opportunities under Co-Directors Jesse Obremski and Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, who have collectively worked with companies such as A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Gibney Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Limón Dance Company, and presented films at Dance on Camera Film Festival, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the London International Web & Shorts Film Festival (UK). The festival's mission is to provide visibility and support for Asian American creatives working with dance on camera.
The Gold Standard Arts Foundation Commissioned Dreamer is one selected artist whose proposed new film propels the art of dance films through collaboration, artistic excellence, and innovative artistry. This commissioned program is geared to support the development of a new film with financial and artistic resources. We are excited to champion Asian voices and support a culture of creation.
Applications are now closed.
Introducing the 2025 - 2026 10,000 Dreams commissioned dreamer Awardee and mentor
Commissioned Dreamer Awardee
Joan Dwiartanto
Commissioned Dreamer Mentor
liz Sargent
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Commissioned Dreamer Awardee
Joan Dwiartanto is a multifaceted artist who enjoys growing both as a dancer and as a choreographer and filmmaker. She graduated from The Juilliard School Dance class of 2022, where she was able to nurture her love for dance, dancing in pieces by choreographers such as Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Justin Peck, Or Schraiber, and Bobbi Jene Smith. However, she was also able to nurture her newfound love for choreography and dance filmmaking. In 2020, Joan co-directed a collaborative film for The Park Avenue Armory’s 100 Years | 100 Women event in New York City and worked with the principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre James Whiteside as the creative videographer and editor in creating his own Ballet film Marilyn’s Funeral in 2021. She then went on to direct and produce her own dance film, Crying On The Island They Own which premiered in early 2022, and has since won multiple film festival awards. Joan is currently a company member with the New York-based dance company YYDC led by award-winning choreographer, Yue Yin. Joan performed in Yue Yin’s most recent evening-length work, NOWHERE which premiered in 2023 in Chelsea Factory, NYC and recently had its European premiere in Germany in 2024, at the Schrit_tmacher Festival. Joan has a passion for storytelling through movement and hopes to continue developing herself as a multi-faceted artist in dance and film.
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Commissioned Dreamer Mentor
Liz Sargent is a Korean-American adoptee whose award-winning work as a filmmaker delves into themes of adoption, disability, and family. As a writer-director, she brings a unique perspective to visual storytelling, drawing from her background as a choreographer to channel complex human emotions. Liz's personal experiences as the middle child of eleven siblings and her intersectional identity deeply influence her creative vision.
Her film "TAKE ME HOME" has garnered significant acclaim, winning the Julia S. Gouw Fellowship with CAPE and Janet Yang Productions. The proof of concept for this film screened at over 50 festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, and PBS. It was featured on Delta Airlines and as part of the Sundance Shorts theatrical tour. Winner AT&T Tribeca Untold Stories for 1MM dollars.
"TAKE ME HOME" is particularly notable for empowering her cognitively disabled sister as the lead actress, an experience Liz shared in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter during the film's FYC Oscar campaign. The feature film is currently in development with Caring Across Generations and was announced in conjunction with a screening at The White House. The feature script won an SFFILM RAININ grant and is a semi-finalist for the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship.
Liz's work is intensely personal, as seen in her short film STRANGERS’ REUNION about an adoptee reunion. It was one of five films chosen by Ritz-Carlton and Hearst to be made with mentorship by Mike Figgis and production by RSA Hong Kong. The film was released online, worldwide in 6 languages and won Best Director at Diversity in Cannes and Best Screenplay at Brand FF London.
Liz incorporates her background as a choreographer trained at North Carolina School of the Arts into her commercial and experimental work. The national 360 FEMA spot was created with AdCouncil & TDWandCo focusing on unique Asian American diasporas. The short film SLOW DOWN: River To River was broadcast on PBS and won a NY Emmy. Experimental dance film collaborations include work with Pam Tanowitz and Fisher Center at Bard, Eiko Otake and Jacob’s Pillow, and Adrienne Westwood and Angelica Negron.
The extension of her personal stories have been told through podcasts and in her award winning story slam at the Korean American Story ROAR in Chicago. She is an NBCU Directing Fellow 2024, two time Ryan Murphy HALF Initiative Mentee, , AICP Mentee with Edward Grann at MSSNG PCES, a member of the Gold House Creator Network, and producer with Cyprian Films New York.
Update
As you may know, there has been a transition in leadership at The Kennedy Center. As a result, the Center's "Office Hours" initiative has been disbanded and the institution will no longer commit to the $10,000 funding and week-long residency support of the Commissioned Dreamer program. This update recently came to us during the review period for this award, and we want to make sure you, the community, are up to date with this information as well.
Our team is actively finding ways to support this Commissioned Dreamer program.
Please consider a donation to our community fund to contribute to this award, or reach out to info@goldstandardarts.org if you have resources that you’d like to offer as part of a robust package from the greater creative community. If you work in film, have resources that could support this prize, have available studio space, would like to support with in-kind mentorship/consultations, film equipment to donate, and/or any other creative way to support, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of our efforts!
Application details
The 2025 - 2026 Application is now closed.
awards and prizes:
The Gold Standard Arts Foundation Commissioned Dreamer recipient will receive $1,000 toward the development and completion of a new dance film to be completed by the end of July 2026. This new dance film will automatically be programmed into the 10,000 Dreams Film Festival 2026-2027 season.
Receive an additional year of the Gold Standard Arts Foundation’s Membership.
Receive mentorship from a panelist of their choice to support them throughout the yearly development of their film.
*As you may know, there has been a transition in leadership at The Kennedy Center. As a result, the Center's "Office Hours" initiative has been disbanded and the institution will no longer commit to the $10,000 funding and week-long residency support of the Commissioned Dreamer program. This update recently came to us during the review period for this award, and we want to make sure you, the community, are up to date with this information as well.
Our team is actively finding ways to support this Commissioned Dreamer program.
Please consider a donation to our community fund to contribute to this award, or reach out to info@goldstandardarts.org if you have resources that you’d like to offer as part of a robust package from the greater creative community. If you work in film, have resources that could support this prize, have available studio space, would like to support with in-kind mentorship/consultations, film equipment to donate, and/or any other creative way to support, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of our efforts!
Rules, Eligibility, and Notes for Submissions:
Only Gold Standard Arts Foundation members may submit their proposals. If you're not a member you may become one HERE.
Applicant must be an individual of Asian and/or Pacific Islander identity living in North America (Canada and The United States).
Applicant must fully complete the requested application form which includes their new film proposal, previous work samples, CV, headshot, and other information.
There is no age or artistic expression limitation.
All dance film proposals of any genre and physical language are accepted.
The 2025 - 2026 application is now closed.
For additional questions, please contact info@goldstandardarts.org at GSAF.
Meet the Jury panelists
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NICK HARTANTO
FILMMAKER
Nick Hartanto is an Indonesian-American filmmaker based in New York. His short film, “The Dishwasher,” which he co-directed, was awarded a Special Jury Mention at Tribeca 2019 and was then acquired by HBO Max. Also a skilled Cinematographer, he shot the Adult Swim series “Hot Package.“ He was recently a guest speaker at the Asian American Arts Alliance Film & Media Town Hall and is currently touring festivals with his new film, "Daly City,” which was nominated for the Oscar qualifying Best Short Narrative Award at the Hawai'i International and Woodstock Film Festival.
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JENNIFER LIN
JOURNALIST, AUTHOR, FILMMAKER
Jennifer Lin made a career pivot into filmmaking a decade ago. She had worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer for 31 years, including stints as a correspondent in Beijing, New York and Washington, D.C. Jennifer’s first documentary was Beethoven in Beijing about the China legacy of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which, in 1973, became the first American orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic. The project received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and was a finalist for the Library of Congress/Lavine Ken Burns Prize for Film. In 2021, Beethoven in Beijing premiered nationally on PBS’s Great Performances.
Carving out a specialty in the classical arts, Jennifer worked with producers Jon Funabiki and Cory Lin Stieg to spotlight the lost history of an Asian dance pioneer in the award-winning short documentary, Ten Times Better. The project, which was featured in The New York Times, uncovers the lost story of George Lee, an 89-year-old blackjack dealer in Las Vegas with an unheralded place in ballet and Broadway history. As a teenage refugee from Shanghai, George originated the Tea dance in George Balanchine’s 1954 premiere of The Nutcracker for the New York City Ballet. The film premiered at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera film festival in 2024 and received funding from the Center for Asian American Media. Jennifer’s current project is About Face, which elevates the work of dancers Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin, the activists behind the Final Bow for Yellowface movement. The feature-length film examines how an art form created hundreds of years ago for the entertainment of kings and queens remains relevant for more diverse audiences today. The producing team expects to release the film in 2025.
In addition to filmmaking, Jennifer has written two books: a family memoir, Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal & Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), and an oral history of the Philadelphia Orchestra in China, Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic journey to China (Temple U. Press, 2022).
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JESSE OBREMSKI
CO-DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER
Jesse Obremski (he/they) is a Japanese-American artist, a native of New York City, who began his studies at The Ailey School, studied at Jacob’s Pillow and Springboard Danse Montreal, and is a graduate of The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and The Juilliard School. He joined the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company at the age of 19 and has since then worked with Helen Simoneau Dance, Peter Stathas Dance, WHITE WAVE, Kate Weare Company, Jacob’s Pillow Men’s Dancers: The Ted Shawn Legacy, Brian Brooks Moving Company, The Limón Dance Company (soloist and principal), Gibney Company, and is currently with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (since 2024).
He is a sought-after educator and speaker, and has restaged José Limón’s work at MOVE|NYC|, The University of Wyoming, and has assisted Limón restagings at The Juilliard School (2015-2018). Obremski is the movement director and choreographer for the musical duo, The Sound of Aja, and a collaborator with The BringAbout. He is the recipient of the Asian American Arts Alliance’s 2016 Jadin Wong Award, is an Eagle Scout Rank recipient, has been mentioned in the NYTimes, NY1, and was named Dance Magazine's March 2019 Dancer "On The Rise". Obremski was the Associate Executive Director of Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance (EMDOD) (2022-2023), after serving on it’s Board for four years. In 2018, he founded Obremski/Works, which has been presented internationally, notably The Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, with an all-AAPI contemporary dance company and AAPI Support Fellowships. Obremski's choreographic works have been presented across the United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Turkey, Germany, Japan, China, and Malaysia by Gibney Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Brigham Young University, EMDOD, and Obremski/Works among others.
Obremski is very excited to partner with Jie-Hung Connie Shiau and join the Gold Standard Arts Foundation team as a Co-Director in this festival toward Asian American support and community building!
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LIZ SARGENT
PRODUCER, FILM DIRECTOR, WRITER
Liz Sargent is a Korean-American adoptee and award-winning filmmaker whose work delves into adoption, disability, and family dynamics. With a background in choreography, she brings emotional depth to her storytelling, shaped by her experience as the middle child of eleven in an intersectional family.
A two-time NY EMMY winner (2020 & 2021), Liz is also a HALF Initiative Mentee (2022 & 2023), an MSSNG PCES AICP Mentee (2023), and NBCU's Launch Director (2024-2026). Her debut narrative short, Strangers' Reunion (2019), produced by Ritz-Carlton and Hearst under the mentorship of Mike Figgis, was an adoptee reunion film released in six languages worldwide.
Her proof of concept, Take Me Home, premiered at Sundance (2023), won the Grand Jury Prize at American Cinematheque's PROOF FF (2024), and was the centerpiece at the White House to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Olmstead Act, where Liz and her sister, the film’s star, shared their stories with key officials. Take Me Home screened at over 50 festivals with distribution on PBS, Kanopy, Swiss & French TV stations and a limited run on Delta Airlines. The feature script won an SFFILM Rainin grant (2023) and was a finalist for the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship and the Lynn Shelton Grant.
Liz incorporates her background as a choreographer trained at North Carolina School of the Arts into her commercial and experimental work. The national 360 FEMA spot was created with AdCouncil & TDWandCo focusing on unique Asian American diasporas. The short film SLOW DOWN: River To River was broadcast on PBS and won a NY Emmy. Experimental dance film collaborations include work with Pam Tanowitz and Fisher Center at Bard, Eiko Otake and Jacob’s Pillow, and Adrienne Westwood and Angelica Negron.
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JIE-HUNG CONNIE SHIAU
CO-DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER
Jie-Hung Connie Shiau is a Taiwanese choreographer, dancer, and teacher. Shiau has presented works at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 43rd virtual season, New Choreographer Project in Taipei, Taiwan, Loyola University, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago summer intensives, SUNY Purchase College, Little Island Dance Festival, Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, Arts On Site, Abrons Arts Center and Summer For The City at Lincoln Center.
Shiau has worked as a collaborator with an array of companies, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, AIM by Kyle Abraham, Gallim Dance, Helen Simoneau Danse, MeenMoves, Adam Barruch/Anatomiae Occultii, Kevin Wynn Works, and Obremski/Works. She has performed works by Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Lou Conte, Kyle Abraham, Johan Inger, Twyla Tharp, Brian Brooks, Peter Chu, Robyn Mineko Williams, Sharone Eyal, Fernando Melo, Alejandro Cerrudo, Helen Simoneau, Sameena Mitta, Rena Butler, Spencer Theberge, Jermaine Spivey, Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Alice Klock, Hanna Kiel, Osnel Delgado, Adam Barruch, Jesse Obremski and the late Kevin Wynn.
In addition, Shiau was a recipient of Chicago Dancemaker Forum Greenhouse Artist in 2019, Dance Magazine’s “25 To Watch” in 2018, Honorable Mention for Jadin Wong Award for Emerging Asian American Dancer in 2014, and Reverb Dance Festival Dancer Award in 2014. Her dance film Greener Grass was a semi-finalist in the London International Web & Shorts Film Festival in 2021. Shiau was the leading female dancer in Huang Ruo’s opera, Angel Island, which premiered at BAM Harvey in January 2024.
Shiau is currently a freelancer based in New York City and is an Artistic Associate with Gibney Company. Shiau is excited to partner with Jesse Obremski and join the Gold Standard Arts Foundation team as a co-director at the 10,000 Dreams Film Festival.