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.

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).

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!

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. 

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.