Hollywood Reporter
Kelly Marie Tran, ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Director Carlos López Estrada Launch Antigravity Academy Banner
11-28-2022Link to Article
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Kelly Marie Tran and her Raya and the Last Dragon director Carlos López Estrada (who helmed the Oscar-winning animated feature alongside Don Hall) are officially coming together professionally.
The pair have launched production company Antigravity Academy, which will develop and produce movies, television, theater and short-form content from and about people from historically excluded communities.
AGA has tapped Winsor Yuan, previously vice president of film and television at Jared Stern’s A Stern Talking To, to run its film and TV division, while short form (which includes music videos, commercials and branded content) will be headed by Doug Klinger, who co-founded the Internet Music Video Database and was most recently an agent and executive producer at Reprobates, whose roster of music video directors includes López Estrada.
In addition, AGA will run an incubator, led by former Sundance Institute director of Artist Community Abiram Brizuela, to identify, develop and package features for first- and -second time filmmakers. Klinger and Brizuela are also founding partners of AGA.
“We could not be happier about providing a creative home for emerging filmmakers who are looking for a window into this often insular industry,” Tran and López Estrada said in a joint statement. “From our own experiences as young creatives, we understand how invaluable a support system can be to someone who is looking to break in. We are looking forward to partnering up with the most inspiring independent voices coming from communities that have been historically overlooked and helping them usher their stories into the world.”
AGA’s feature slate includes the Amanda Nguyen biopic co-produced by Significant Pictures and written and directed by Tang Yi; Sean Wang’s Dìdi(弟弟), the recipient of the 2020 Sundance Ignite Fellowship, the 2021 Sundance Birth of a Nation Grant and the 2022 Sundance Institute | Asian American Foundation Fellowship, among other programs; and López Estrada’s own Kill Yr Idols, a Rio Grande Valley-set high school punk rock comedy produced by Department of Motion Pictures’ Michael Gottwald. In short form, AGA is already working on a documentary series for the Los Angeles Times about local art, food and music across the city.
Tran is represented by CAA and López Estrada by UTA. Both are managed by M88.