Erica Liu and So Young Shelly Yo are the 2018 SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellows. SFFILM, a Bay Area-based org championing films and filmmakers, announced the news in a press release. The fellowship is presented to filmmakers who tell stories about science or technology in their work. Liu and Yo will use the fellowship’s resources — a $35,000 cash grant; a two-month residency at SFFILM’s production offices, FilmHouse; advisors and mentorship from science and tech professionals; and networking opportunities — to develop and produce their projects.
Yo wrote and will direct “The 11th Endeavor.” Based on the true story of astronaut Yi So Yeon, the film sees a female biotechnologist competing to become Korea’s first astronaut. “In her obsessive quest … So Yeon steps into a world of unmeasurable physical and mental stress and discovers shocking revelations about her country,” the synopsis details.
Liu will direct “The Mushroomers” from her original screenplay. It’s about a young, recently widowed mycologist who “attempts to sublimate her grief by embarking on an offbeat project to heal a contaminated old-growth forest using only super fungi,” according to the description. “But Mother Nature and the mechanics of her own mourning prove far fickler than she had anticipated.”
“The selection process for the Sloan Fellowship is always so stimulating and impassioned, with the room filled with SFFILM colleagues and members of our Science Advisory Board assessing the creative potential and representation of science in each project. We couldn’t be more pleased with this year’s result — two amazing female filmmakers telling the stories of two fascinating female scientists,” Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM’s Director of Artist Development, told us. “Now the fun begins: working with the robust Bay Area scientific community to find experts in the subjects of the films who can help deepen and expand the representation of the science, alongside screenwriting mentorship. The meeting of the minds of the scientists and filmmakers always leads to such inspiring work.”
Find Yo and Liu’s bios below, courtesy of SFFILM.
So Young Shelly Yo is a Korean-American filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles. She is a recent graduate of the MFA film program at Columba University, where her thesis film Moonwalk with Me was awarded faculty honors. Her short films have screened and received accolades at film festivals around the world including the Mecal Barcelona International Short Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, and New Filmmakers LA, among others. Prior to schooling, Shelly worked as a video editor for a tech company known as ZEFR and as an assistant in the freelance commercial film industry.
Erica Liu is a Taiwanese-American writer/director based in Los Angeles. She participated in the AFI Conservatory Directing Workshop for Women in 2015. Her films have screened at Clermont-Ferrand, AFI Fest, and Palm Springs International Shortfest, among others. Springtime aired on public television nationwide via KQED and affiliate stations. The Disappointment Tour received a Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation grant. Erica earned her MFA from NYU Tisch Asia and previously spent five years working and shooting throughout Asia, collaborating with companies including BBC, Google, and China Film Group. Erica is currently incubating her first feature, The Mushroomers.
