Sean is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker from the Bay Area. He began his career developing and directing commercials at Google Creative Lab in New York City. Since then, his work has
screened at film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, and TIFF. He is the recipient of multiple Sundance Institute fellowships, including Ignite and the Sundance Screenwriters & Directors Lab. In 2024, he was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Artist and received the Sundance Vanguard Award for Fiction. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
His short-form work has been recognized by The New York Times, Vimeo Staff Picks, Sundance, SFFILM, IDA, Camerimage, and others. His latest short film,
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma), premiered at SXSW 2023, where it won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. Acquired by Disney+,
the film went on to screen at festivals worldwide, earning top honors at AFI Fest and SIFF, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
His feature directorial debut, Dìdi (弟弟), premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast, and was acquired
by Focus Features for a global theatrical release. Sean was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film and the film was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick, nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards—winning Best First Screenplay and Best First Feature—and was recognized as one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2024 by the National Board of Review.
Contact:
Film & TV: WME | Craig Kestel
Commercial: Park Pictures | Jackie Bisbee