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Ever wonder if the stars are secretly scripting Hollywood’s next indie hit? Well, buckle up—because Crystine Zhang is making moves that even Mercury in retrograde can’t derail. While Beth de Araújo’s Josephine, featuring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, is putting the Sundance spotlight on Friday (and gearing up for a Berlin encore), Zhang’s not just kicking back with popcorn. Her Oval-5 banner launches not one, but two other Sundance premieres in 2026: David Wain’s cheeky Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, glittering with Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, and John Slattery; plus Bedford Park, a heartfelt project close to Zhang’s roots, spotlighting Korean stars Moon Choi and Sukku Son crossing oceans and industries alike. It’s almost like the cosmos aligned to prove that hustle, heart, and a splash of multicultural mojo can turn indie film dreams into reality. So, is it just industry savvy or something written in the stars? Let’s find out. LEARN MORE
With writer-director Beth de Araújo’s Josephine — starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, world premiering Friday at Sundance ahead of a Berlin screening — indie producer and financier Crystine Zhang still has plenty on her Park City agenda.
Under her Oval-5 banner, Zhang has two other acquisition titles premiering at Sundance 2026: David Wain’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, which she fully financed and stars Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm and John Slattery and being shopped by WME; and Bedford Park, which she executive produced for director-writer Stephanie Ahn, with Sleepless in Seattle producer Gary Foster and which CAA/Cornerstone are repping. CAA and WME are handling sales on Josephine.
Bedford Park is especially close to Zhang’s heart. Leads Moon Choi and Sukku Son have established careers in South Korea and stepped outside their comfort zones to cross over to Hollywood. “I feel you could call it their American dream. And I want to support that,” Zhang tells The Hollywood Reporter.
In many ways, Choi and Son’s journey to Sundance mirrors Zhang’s own two-decade path into the U.S. market, which came with its share of challenges. “Hollywood is now more diverse than ever. And that’s a great thing, but not how it was 20 years go, or even ten years ago,” she says, pointing to the success of Crazy Rich Asians and Everything Everywhere All at Once as catalysts for studios and streamers embracing Asian-American storytelling.
From left: Gemma Chan, Mason Reeves and Channing Tatum in Beth de Araújo’s Josephine.
Greta Zozula/Courtesy of Sundance
Splitting her time between Los Angeles and Toronto, Zhang has taken the extra step of applying for Canadian citizenship as U.S. producers increasingly look overseas to package and finance projects amid ongoing pressures on the indie sector. She sees Canada as a natural creative home. “Canada is a very multicultural country, and today audiences are more receptive to different stories. You can talk about a Korean family, a Chinese family or a Scottish family. Because these stories resonate with people,” she says.
Zhang’s path to Hollywood was shaped as much by chance as design. She began her career in China as an investigative journalist for the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, before a pivotal conversation with an early mentor, former St. Mary’s University president Colin Dodds, altered her trajectory.
“He said, in a big ocean, you can possibly be a small fish. But in a small pond, you become a big fish,” Zhang recalls. Taking that advice to heart, she studied at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, using Canada as a bridge to the U.S. market.
Stephanie Ahn’s Bedford Park.
Courtesy of Sundance
After graduation her mother in China followed Zhang to Toronto, where in 2013 she set up a business venture in Shanghai with Canadian production veteran Bill White just as that Asian market’s film industry was enjoying blockbuster growth. “China was booming at the time, and a lot of Hollywood filmmakers were going to Beijing. That was really the best time,” she recalls.
But conquering Los Angeles had always been an ambition for Zhang, especially after ties between Hollywood and China began to cool. So in 2016, Zhang moved to LA to became CEO of Shandong Film & TV, where she acquired movies for the Chinese market and co-financed Hollywood movies.
By 2021, however, Zhang had ditched the corporate suite for indie producing, with her first project being Catherine Hardwick’s Prisoner’s Daughter, starring Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox and premiering in Toronto in 2022. That was followed by 2025’s Glenrothan, Succession star Cox’s Scotland-set directorial debut that premiered in Toronto.
In quick succession, Zhang also boarded Kate Winslet’s eight-year journey to get Lee, her biopic about iconic war photographer Elisabeth “Lee” Miller, to the big screen. Now, Zhang’s producing success brings her to a very busy Sundance.
“As an independent producer, you have to hustle,” she explains, which makes her second home in Toronto after fast-paced Los Angeles key to staying grounded. “I like LA and Toronto equally. And I see LA as my work home, and [Toronto] is my home home,” she says.
David Wain’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.
Courtesy of Sundance
“In today’s market, to make a film happen really takes a bigger village than 10 years ago,” she continues. “That’s why we see in independent film so many producers or executive producers in the credits. That’s not a bad sign. It just shows how much effort and collaboration you have to have.”
Her upcoming film projects include Down To A Sunless Sea, an action film for Focus Features with Morgan Freeman attached. Zhang is also at work on Skyway, with The Fighter screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson penning the script.
The action drama is based on the true story of a fearless Chinese American pilot, Captain Moon Chin, on an impossible World War II mission to fly hunted war hero Jimmy Doolittle over a Himalayas flight path known as “The Hump,” while eluding Japanese enemy fighters.
Zhang sees her Skyway project offering a fresh perspective when it comes to Hollywood World War II movies: “If you talk about Asian representation, and if you think about all the World War II movies, they haven’t really had an Asian or a minority as one of the leads. In my film, they’re unsung heroes.”
Brian Cox attends the Glenrothan premiere at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival.
(Photo by Sonia Recchia/Getty Images)
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