Gold House just unveiled its fifth-annual 2025 Gold List celebrating excellence in film by Asian Pacific creatives. With the Golden Globes this past weekend, it’s awards season and we’re heading fast towards the Academy Awards. As such, it’s incredibly important to highlight achievements by diverse creatives so that they know that they are celebrated by their own and other diverse communities, and hopefully so that awards voters will take notice.
The Gold List has been a vital part of Hollywood’s increase in awareness of Asian Pacific creatives and projects for the last several years, and with the recent efforts against diversity in all industries, it’s even more important than ever.
This year, films like Wicked, Moana 2, All We Imagine As Light, and Dìdi (弟弟) are honored, as well as individuals like Jon M. Chu, Dev Patel, and Joan Chen.
Check out the honorees below and visit thegoldlist.org for more details.
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ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT, WICKED, MOANA 2, DÌDI (弟弟), DEV PATEL, AND JOAN CHEN RECEIVE TOP HONORS ON GOLD HOUSE’S FIFTH ANNUAL 2025 GOLD LIST HONORING ASIAN PACIFIC EXCELLENCE
Los Angeles, CA – Gold House proudly unveils the fifth annual Gold List, spotlighting the most exceptional achievements in film by Asian Pacific creatives over the past year. This influential guide for awards voters celebrates a monumental year for Asian Pacific representation in cinema, with standout winners including Wicked and Moana 2, Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix winner All We Imagine As Light, and Academy Award-nominated director Sean Wang’s debut feature Dìdi (弟弟).
Since its launch five years ago, the Gold List has celebrated an emerging tide of increasing representation in film by honoring over 200 Asian Pacific films and creatives, with many proceeding to receive Academy Awards, including the historic wins by Everything Everywhere All At Once, Minari, RRR, Parasite, The Boy and the Heron, and The Elephant Whisperer. These achievements mirror a broader cultural shift: 1 in 4 Americans report increasing their consumption of Asian Pacific-led content over the past five years. Gold House’s 2024 Gold Paper survey underscores the impact of these stories, finding that authentic on-screen representation positively shapes real-life perceptions of the Asian Pacific community.
In a year when Asian Pacific creativity dominated the box office—Moana 2 and Wicked alone grossed over $1.2 billion globally—the Gold List celebrates these blockbusters alongside critically acclaimed gems like All We Imagine As Light, Dìdi (弟弟), and Monkey Man.
Key wins on the Gold List include:
- Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay: All We Imagine As Light, written and directed by Payal Kapadia, received top honors, with additional Honorable Mentions for Kapadia for Best Director, Kani Kusruti (Best Leading Performance), and Divya Prabha (Best Supporting Performance).
- Best Director: Jon M. Chu, a lifelong champion of diverse storytelling and one of the catalysts for the rising tide of investment in diverse storytelling with his breakout success Crazy Rich Asians, wins for his work in the groundbreaking Wicked. Michelle Yeoh and Bowen Yang also earned Honorable Mentions for their Supporting Performances.
- Best Animated Film and Best Adapted Screenplay: Moana 2 and writers Dana Ledoux Miller and Jared Bush capped off their record-breaking theatrical run with two wins.
- Best Performance in a Supporting Role: The legendary Joan Chen received the win for her performance in Dìdi (弟弟), with the film also earning Honorable Mentions for Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sean Wang (Best Director), Izaac Wang (Best Leading Performance), and Best Picture.
- Best Performance in a Leading Role: Dev Patel shone in his dual role as actor and filmmaker in his directorial debut, Monkey Man.
- Non-Fiction: Black Box Diaries received Best Documentary, while Instruments of a Beating Heart received Best Documentary Short.
- Shorts: Magic Candies and Anuja round out the Gold List with their wins for Best Animated Short and Best Live Action Short, respectively.
“This past year is a testament to the talent, resilience, and diversity that continue to enrich the global film landscape. From big-budget films to independent projects, the talent on our 2025 Gold List proves that when Asian Pacific voices are given the space to create and stories are told with authenticity, they resonate universally and inspire audiences worldwide,” said Tiffany Chao, Vice President of Entertainment and Media at Gold House.
For over six years, Gold House has redefined narratives about the Asian Pacific diaspora through its pioneering initiatives in cultural consulting, research, and creative promotion on over 600 projects, while propelling several to record-breaking commercial and critical success, including Everything Everywhere All At Once, Parasite, and Crazy Rich Asians. Last year, Gold House expanded its suite of career-changing accelerators for rising creatives, in partnership with global companies such as Netflix, Spotify, and Live Nation, to launch a new Creative Equity Fund to enable direct investments in the most promising Asian Pacific creatives and companies.
The Gold List spans 11 categories, voted on by prominent leaders from the Gold House Creative Advisory Board, Gold House Members, and entertainment industry heavyweights.
The full list of Gold List selections are below. Visit thegoldlist.org for more information.
Best Picture
Winner: All We Imagine As Light
Honorable Mentions, Dìdi (弟弟), How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
Best Director
Winner: Jon M. Chu (Wicked)
Honorable Mentions: Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light), Sean Wang (Dìdi (弟弟))
Best Performance in a Leading Role
Winner: Dev Patel (Monkey Man)
Honorable Mentions: Awkwafina (Jackpot!), Izaac Wang (Dìdi (弟弟)), Kani Kusruti (All We Imagine As Light), Naomi Scott (Smile 2), Putthipong Assaratanakul (How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies)
Best Performance in a Supporting Role
Winner: Joan Chen (Dìdi (弟弟))
Honorable Mention: Bowen Yang (Wicked), Divya Prabha (All We Imagine As Light), Dolly De Leon (Ghostlight), Hong Chau (Kinds of Kindness), Michelle Yeoh (Wicked)
Best Animated Film
Winner: Moana 2
Honorable Mentions: Kung Fu Panda 4, Ultraman: Rising
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light)
Honorable Mentions: Sandhya Suri (Santosh), Sean Wang (Dìdi (弟弟))
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winners: Dana Ledoux Miller, Jared Bush (Moana 2)
Honorable Mentions: Biplab Goswami, Sneha Desai, Divy Nidhi Sharma (Lost Ladies); Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping (Femme)
Best Documentary
Winner: Black Box Diaries
Honorable Mentions: The Last of the Sea Women, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa
Best Documentary Short
Winner: Instruments of a Beating Heart
Honorable Mentions: 1 in 10: Redefining The Asian American Dream; Amma Ki Katha
Best Live Action Short
Winner: Anuja
Honorable Mentions: Blue Boy, First Night
Best Animated Short
Winner: Magic Candies
Honorable Mentions: Bottle George, Origami
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ABOUT GOLD HOUSE
Gold House is the leading cultural ecosystem that unites, invests in, and champions Asian Pacific creators and companies to power tomorrow for all. Our innovative programs and platforms include membership systems and events to fortify belonging among the Asian Pacific community and with other marginalized communities (#StopAsianHate); first-of-its-kind investment vehicles and accelerators to propel the next generation of top Asian Pacific founders, creatives, and leaders (Gold House Ventures, Creative Equity Fund); and industry-leading research, consulting, and marketing to promote authentic and affirming mainstream portrayals (Gold Story Consultation, Gold Open, Gold List, A100 List). To learn more, visit www.goldhouse.org or follow @GoldHouseCo on Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, Threads, and LinkedIn.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
