Julie Zhao: A Third Culture Emerging Producer’s Mission to Diversify Entertainment

Edition Seventy-Eight- Week Seventy-Eight:

Written by: Mercedes Barreto

With the recent success of films like Minari, Shoplifters, series like Squid Game, Pachinko, and more, it’s become apparent that the demand for AAPI perspectives on screen, as well as authentic portrayals of the unique challenges tied to our identity, have grown more important than ever. Yet, while mainstream media has certainly discussed the need for better representation on and behind the screens, Hollywood’s “Diversity Problem” persists.

Julie Zhao, an emerging Independent Producer in the entertainment industry and fellow “third-culture kid”, has made it her mission to amplify underrepresented voices through her creative pursuits and involvement with socially driven nonprofits supporting creative arts. Born in Paris and having lived in Shanghai, New York, and now, Los Angeles, Zhao brings a unique perspective to her art. As a producer, Zhao’s latest short, Dreamline, was a recipient of a matching grant from Netflix and fiscally sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative SF. The story follows Vaanen, an Indian-American teenage rapper who uses his art to connect with the world and his father, “explor[ing] the miscommunication between first-generation immigrants and their children”, especially in a cultural melting-pot such as the United States” The film was also a recipient of the prestigious HEAR US finishing grant, which aims to spotlight BIPOC voices and to fund students actively working to combat systemic marginalization in the creation and leadership of artistic and scholarly works.

Zhao is also an active Festival Programming Coordinator at the 47th Asian American International Film Festival – the first and longest-running film festival to showcase the works of emerging and experienced Asian and Asian American filmmakers and media artists in the US – powered by the non-profit Asian Cinevision. As a programmer at AAIFF, Zhao’s background in producing allows her to assess films with a critical eye, and help uncover bold, new stories that resonate with the local community. “Being part of the jury committee at a prestigious film festival has given me the privilege to see how AAPI content has diversified,” Zhao says, “no longer limited to films exploring relationships to our identity, these films have expanded beyond the popular family drama genre to sci-fi, horror […] the focus now being how our identity can be perceived in many other ways.”

Giving back to the community has always been a point of focus for Zhao in both her life and work. Aside from her full-time position at a premium TV production and financing company in Hollywood, Zhao is currently involved in a docu-series pilot for a street sports festival in Inglewood, meant to highlight the diverse cultural fabric of the local community despite rising gentrification in recent years. She is also in development on several other narrative projects, all set to go into production in the next year. “It’s a lot of late evenings and weekends dedicated to putting together these passion projects with little to no budget,” Zhao says, but “there’s no better feeling than when you premiere the film in front of an audience, and have the images reach them and be a vehicle for what you have to say.” In the next five years, Zhao hopes to integrate a Filmmaker lab like Sundance or Tribeca and be able to follow the footsteps of API women producers like Anita Gou, Taylor Shung, Janet Yang, and Christina Oh, to name a few.

These goals are lofty, but Zhao has found considerable success so far, with her films screening at prestigious festivals like Rhode Island Flickers Film Festival, Cinequest, Chicago Cineyouth, Evolution! Mallorca, and many more.

More on Zhao’s upcoming work is available here: www.juliezhao.com