Kailyn Ng received the $10,000 Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award on Friday at the popular art fair. Meanwhile, Brett Williams was announced as the winner of the $2,500 Audience Prize, which was voted on by the public.
Ng and Williams received their awards during a special invitation-only ceremony held at the show. Made possible in collaboration with the non-profit Ghetto Film School and global film and television studio Season 5, the Frieze Los Angeles Film Award is widely recognized within the industry as an incubator of next-generation talent.
Ng is a first-generation Singaporean American producer and writer with a degree in Creative Production and Virtual Production from Dodge College, Chapman University. She is a 2022 Coca-Cola Refreshing Films finalist and a 2023 Star Trek Command Foundation Bootcamp Fellow. With previous experience at Proximity Media, Starz, and Lionsgate, Ng currently serves as the Executive Assistant to the President of Film & Television at Justin Simien’s Culture Machine. They also produce live events and podcasts.
Her film “The Metamorphosis Project” tells the story of Eric, who is given the opportunity to experience virtual life after a horrific diagnosis.
The winning film was selected by a jury of leading arts and entertainment professionals, including Season 5 Vice President of TV Development and Production Mina Baban, artist Jose Davila, writer-director Julio Quintana, Ghetto Film School CEO Montia Robinson, and 1Community Head of Content Amit. Shukla, alongside Frieze Americas Director Christine Messineo and Private Bank President and Deutsche Bank Board Member Claudio De Sanctis.
“I am thrilled that Frieze Los Angeles, set in the home and heart of the film industry, will celebrate its fifth Deutsche Bank Film Prize this year,” Messineo said. “Promoting opportunities for emerging talent is now more important than ever, and this impact can be seen in our support of more than 40 Fellows since the launch of the award in 2019.”
Audience Award-winning Williams is a Los Angeles-based writer and director who recently completed her studies as a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute. Williams previously programmed film series at Doc Films while studying for her bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago, and took film night classes at the School of Visual Arts while working in digital marketing in New York. Her work uses humor to explore black characters confronting their internal contradictions, reflecting her interest in community, femininity, and narratives of black progress.
Her film “Soft Launch” follows a controversial tech executive as she defends her latest software to a journalist before its launch. As the interview grows more hostile, the CEO secretly wrestles with her desire to unleash technology on the world.
The frieze consists of three magazines – Frieze, Frieze Masters Magazine And Frieze week – And five international art fairs – Frieze London, Frieze Masters, Frieze New York, Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze Seoul. In October 2021, Frieze launched Cork Street 9, a hub for visiting international exhibitions in the heart of London’s Mayfair. Frieze is part of the IMG network.