2024 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” is a personal love letter from first generation Taiwanese-American director Sean Wang, to his grandmothers. Sean turns a camera on his grandmas (“Nǎi Nai” and “Wài Pó”), who are inseparable best friends and roommates in their 80s and 90s. The film captures their daily lives in hilarious and unexpected ways as they dance, stretch, and fart their sorrows away—eventually giving way to a poignant meditation on lives marked by both joy and pain. Together, grandmas and grandson remind us that getting older doesn’t have to mean fading away. After making its world premiere at SXSW — taking home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award — the film went on to make the IDA shortlist and win Grand Jury Awards at AFI Fest and SIFF 2023, along with the Audience Award at The Wrap 2023  Shortlist Film Festival and Special Jury Recognition at LAAPFF 2023. Other selections include Rooftop Films Summer Series, Palm Springs ShortsFest, CAAM Fest 2023 and Aesthetica Film Festival 2023. Director / Producer / Editor Sean Wang and Producer / Cinematographer Sam Davis (Academy Award®-winning documentary short Period. End of Sentence) join us to talk about Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó’s participation, the film’s breakthrough at SXSW and what Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó will be wearing on the Red Carpet.

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For more go to: seanwangfilm.com/nainai-waipo

2024 Oscar® Documentary Short Nominee

About the filmmaker – Sean is an Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker from Fremont, CA, currently based in Los Angeles. He is a Google Creative Lab 5 alum, former Sundance Ignite Fellow, and 2023 Sundance Screenwriters & Directors Lab Fellow. His latest film, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma), premiered at SXSW 2023 where it won the Grand Jury Prize & Audience Award. It was acquired by Disney+ and was nominated for  an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film. It is currently streaming on Disney+ & Hulu. His debut feature film, Dìdi (弟弟), premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast, and was acquired by Focus Features for a Summer 2024 theatrical release.

About the filmmaker – Sam Davis is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and director of photography based in LA. His photography has screened at world-class film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, and Camerimage. Sam produced and shot the Academy Award-winning short documentary Period. End of Sentence.. He is a member of IATSE Local 600.

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“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó puts a gigantic smile on your face and a boulder-sized lump in your throat.’ – Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News

“A bittersweet doc showcasing the fun and silliness that can be had in older age while also acknowledging the sadness of being near death.’ – Christopher Campbell, Nonfics