Producer Nina Yang Bongiovi, the BAFTA-nominated producer of such acclaimed films as Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station,” Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You” and Rebecca Hall‘s “Passing,” will be this year’s recipient of Variety’s Creative Impact in Producing Award at the 2023 Sun Valley Film Festival on Friday, March 31st. Born in Taiwan and raised in Los Angeles, Bongiovi spent many years working in the Hong Kong film industry before forming the production company Significant Pictures with Forest Whitaker, fresh off his Best Actor Oscar win for “The Last King of Scotland.” “What we wanted to do is to champion storytellers that are historically underrepresented, narratives of color that I really haven’t seen in the marketplace,” Bongiovi recently told Variety‘s Todd Gilchrist.
Chaz Ebert, this site’s publisher and Editor-in-Chief says “When I worked with Nina on the movie “Passing,” I found her to be very hands-on and passionate about getting the story as authentic as possible. She and director Rebecca Hall knew how important representation is in this industry. I heartily congratulate Nina on this award for her full body of work.”
Other notable films Significant Pictures has produced include Rick Famuyiwa’s Sundance prize-winner “Dope,” and “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” which marked the debut feature of Chloé Zhao, who went on to earn the Best Director Oscar for “Nomadland.” Bongiovi told Gilchrist that her experience producing “Passing” was especially monumental for her. “For us to launch it so successfully [with] a huge sale at Sundance with Netflix, then later on, running it for the awards circuit, that was truly art meets commerce and where I’m feeling like I’m at a different level of producing,” she noted. Her upcoming projects include television biopics on trailblazing comedian Richard Pryor, iconic activist Angela Davis and Hollywood’s first Chinese American movie star, Anna May Wong.
Three other major industry figures receiving accolades at this year’s Sun Valley Film Festival include Vision Award Honoree Josh Brolin, the Oscar-nominated star of “No Country for Old Men” and “Avengers: Endgame“; Pioneer Award Honoree Emilio Estevez, the prolific actor and filmmaker celebrated for his work in films such as “The Mighty Ducks” and “Bobby”; and Rising Star Award Honoree Sophie Thatcher, who has earned praise for her portrayal of the young Juliette Lewis on the hit Showtime series, “Yellowjackets.”
The Sun Valley Film Festival runs from Wednesday, March 29th, through Sunday, April 2nd. For more information, visit its official site.
