The CAPE List is a partnership between CAPE and The Black List to create a curated list of scripts centered on diverse Asian Pacific characters and experiences from writers Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
These scripts are submitted to the Black List and reviewed by the CAPE selection committee. They are then evaluated on overall quality, whether or not the film’s protagonist identifies as a person from Asian and/or Pacific Islander heritage. and whether the script includes authentic, accurate and inclusive Asian and Pacific Islander representation that, if removed, would significantly alter or affect the story.
The scripts must also pass the CAPE Test’s requirements:
The lead or at least two characters are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent.
At least one Asian Pacific Islander character has a narrative arc distinct from helping or revolving around the main character.
View the 10 features and 10 pilots for our second annual CAPE List below!
FEATURES
CHOW
by
Carrie Wong & Herman Ming Chen
A Chinese-American family must figure out a way to modernize their restaurant in order to keep it afloat.
ENCOUNTERS
by Gary King
After a drunken one night stand, two strangers wake up to discover an alien invasion outside the window, forcing them to navigate their budding relationship while fighting to survive.
MOTHER-DAUGHTER
by Tricia Lee
A church-going, undocumented Asian woman and a feisty transgender teen form an unlikely friendship that helps them heal their own family relationships in this drama with a sense of humor.
OJEK
by Sam Boyer
On the brink of his profession's disappearance, a selfless motorcycle taxi driver in Jakarta risks his future by using his transporting talents to help his brother's dangerous new delivery business.
TIGHTER
by Arun Croll
When a Japanese rope bondage workshop is taken hostage by masked intruders, a couple must find a way to escape their captors while tied together at the wrists.
WIDE OPEN SPACES
by Niki Ang
Haley, an Asian American freshman at a conservative Christian college, wrestles with her faith and identity in the face of strict pastors, her liberal mother, and the girl she falls in love with.
WONDERFUL WORLD
by Melissa Kong
When an opportunity opens up at a local nightclub, music-obsessed Katharine and her friends jump at the chance to do something bigger than anybody could have imagined. A coming-of-age dramedy about the first Asian-American girl band in the 1960s.
WONDERLAND
by Tiffanie Hsu
When her mother disappears with the family bankroll during a Christmas trip to Vegas, eleven-year-old Adeline Tang hires a devious street magician to bring her mother home before her father finds out.
YEAR OF THE HORSE
by Brandon Carbaugh
After the law fails them, the residents of a frontier Chinatown seek justice with the help of a legendary tracker who is hiding secrets of her own.
PILOTS
ARRANGED
by Keerthi Harishankar
Faced with the hellish prospect of modern dating, recently dumped and unemployed Jyoti decides to do the previously unthinkable - get an arranged marriage à la her Indian, immigrant parents.
DEPROGRAM
by Mitali Jahagirdar
In the aftermath of a school shooting, a single mother's grief turns to horror as she retraces her son's steps and discovers that he was enveloped in a more sinister web of radicalization.
DUST CHILD
by D. Dona Le
A half-Vietnamese woman comes to the U.S. for the first time in search of her American GI father—unlocking two families' dark secrets and a murderous past.
FIFTY THOUSAND
by Sonali Mehta
A widowed immigrant who runs a Green Card-marriage brokerage business finds herself at risk of exposure when an accident puts her on the radar of local law enforcement.
FINDING SATOSHI
by Shruti Saran
Two struggling drug dealers, a cynical professor, and an abused Saudi housewife are unwittingly drawn into a global dark market powered by one of the most disruptive inventions of the 21st century: Bitcoin.
GOOD BOY
by William Yu
A young Korean American dreams of launching his own streetwear brand, but his dysfunctional relationships and conflicting family values force him to question if doing it for the culture is really worth the hype.
LIFE DOWN HERE
by Peter Limm
A semi-autobiographical comedy about living and loving with dwarfism. When his longtime internet crush comes to visit him in LA, Peter has a very big problem – she doesn’t know that he’s a dwarf.
SHE SAID…
by Kimberly-Rose Wolter
The only female biology professor at a prestigious university has it all until her TA accuses the professor she’s having an affair with of sexual assault, launching a hunt for the truth.
VENUS PHASE
by Chrissie De Guzman
When a deeply closeted woman moves back home to her parent’s crowded Filipino, Catholic household, she joins an eccentric women’s circle where she explores her sexuality, a poly relationship and the courage to live life outside the box.
WEDHEAD
by Nina Mohan
A cynical wedding planner with a struggling business discovers she has the ability to see the future of people's relationships.