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. APIA MN Film Collective builds their community’s artistic and economic vitality through filmmaking by providing free programs throughout the Twin Cities.

Founded by filmmaking artists Naomi Ko and Kazua Melissa Vang in 2018 to create space and opportunities for the APIA filmmaking community in Minnesota, APIA Minnesotan Film Collective trains filmmakers, provides arts learning opportunities, and grant funds to filmmakers so they can produce their original narrative fiction work. APIA Minnesotan Film Collective’s mission is the EMPOWER and EQUIP filmmakers to tell their unique, entertaining, and powerful stories. Since 2018, 26 short films and episodic projects have been shot and filmed in Minnesota by collective members. APIA MN Film Collective has also provided free workshops and mentorship on grant writing, which has led to individual filmmaking artists winning over $200,000 to support their work.

Jerome Foundation supports APIA MN Film Collective’s Directors Lab program. Each year, two early career Minnesota-based directors are selected to direct and produce a scene from a short film script—one that they developed from the Short Film Lab or from a short film script they wrote—with a full crew, cast, and on location. Artists receive mentorship from teaching artists before, during, and after production, peer-to-peer engagement to provide feedback on projects and process, access to space, and critical response on their project from the selection committee. Selected directors also receive specific mentorship from their assigned teaching artist before and after in-person sessions, and critical response from their peers and mentors during the lab.