Film Independent recently announced the participants in its 2025 Producing Labs, recognizing a new generation of producers working across fiction and documentary. Among this year’s fellows are CalArtians Betty Hu (Theater MFA 18), School of Theater faculty Rui Xu, and DaManuel Richardson (Film/Video MFA 16).
The Producing Labs, now in their 25th year for fiction and second for documentary, provide an intensive, hands-on environment where fellows develop their projects with support from experienced industry advisors. Both programs pair participants with mentors to refine their projects creatively and strategically, focusing on sustainability in today’s challenging independent film landscape.
Hu and Xu were selected for the Fiction Producing Lab for their upcoming feature Uncle Hiep’s Casino, written and directed by Richard Van (Film/Video MFA 18). The film follows an ex-prisoner navigating life between his mother’s home and his uncle’s underground casino, exploring themes of family, identity, and reinvention.
Richardson was selected for the Documentary Producing Lab with Artificial Horizon, a project directed by Elizabeth M. Webb (Film/Video MFA 16) that explores the social and natural histories of former plantation land in Alabama. The film examines how boundaries are drawn and reimagined through both human and ecological histories.
