Introducing: AUM Group, our newest Partnership

The Marc Cortez Foundation is proud to partner and announce that we have made a significant contribution to AUM Group, a fund dedicated to the development and acquisition of creative IP, financing multicultural motion pictures, and investing in the next generation of diverse storytellers. AUM Group’s mission resonates deeply with our values. 

With some of the top names in film and tech, this initiative was launched by Fruitvale Station producer Nina Yang Bongiovi, Gold House chairman Bing Chen, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, and Significant Productions’ Michael Chow. 

According to their website, “the Latino, Asian, and African diasporas, alone, represent half of domestic box office audiences today and are poised to become the majority by 2040. Moreover, the Asian and Latino diasporas are the fastest-growing populations in the country. Data also suggests that if more than 30% of the cast is diverse, the film performs better at every budget level.”

And if that’s not enough, multicultural audiences out-index every other demographic in online media consumption on every device and for nearly every major creative format. The launch of AUM comes at a time where there is a demand for inclusive narratives.

Among a series of future features, AUM Group financed Passing starring Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Andre Holland, and Alexander Skarsgard. The Netflix film is based on Nella Larsen’s novel and tells the story of two African-American women, each of whom can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line in 1928 Harlem. While film’s themes of colorism and race may have turned away other producers, Passing is on target for AUM as it explores the complicated intersection of race, class and culture through a suspense-thriller.

Read more about the AUM Group by visiting their Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram