April S. Chang, a Los Angeles-based producer who grew up in Gwinnett County, was one of 11 producers chosen to participate in this year’s Sundance Institute Producers Lab.
The Producers Lab, which took place July 14-19 for fiction films and July 19-24 for nonfiction films in Wyoming, kicks off a yearlong fellowship for the chosen producers as they work on their respective feature-length projects, according to a press release. Chang and producing partner Vicki Syal’s chosen project is “Dying is Fine,” which is about a suicidal woman whose worries disappear when she finds out she is dying of brain cancer.
Chang said the Sundance Institute reached out to her encouraging her to apply for the Producers Lab earlier this year after a short film that she and Syal worked on played at the 2025 festival. Chang wanted to apply, but first, she needed a script.
“I was looking for something that could be made independently,” Chang said about looking for a script for the lab. “I was looking for something that I knew that I liked enough to work on for many, many years.”
Chang, who serves as the manager of Creative and Talent Development at Rideback Rise, found the script from her coworker, Caroline Rugo. To direct, she brought on filmmaker Ran Ran Wang. In mid-July, Chang and Syal attended the lab in Wyoming, coming back to their team with creative questions to help guide the film along.
“We have communicated those notes to Caroline and Ran, and we discussed them,” Chang said. “Caroline’s now going to rewrite, with the goal of having a script that we can take out starting at the end of this year.”
As of now, the goal is to fundraise for the first two quarters of next year and shoot by the spring of 2027.
Chang attended Buford High School and originally wanted to major in English at New York University. But one summer, her best friend asked her if she wanted to apply to be an extra on the set of “Insurgent,” which was filming in Atlanta. Chang was a huge fan of the books and applied with her friend. They made the cut.
The two were only 17 years old, so their mothers had to be on set with them for the duration of the shoot. The experience of being on a film set blew Chang’s mind.
“I literally thought the [production assistant] was the coolest person ever, because they had a walkie-talkie,” she said. “I was really naive, and I had no idea what I was walking into at all.”
She might not have known what she was getting herself into, but she knew she wanted to be a part of it. She applied to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she graduated with a BFA in Film and Television. She didn’t want to write or direct, but producing was calling her name.
“In terms of producing, it was just so organic, because I’m a people person, and I want to be involved in every step and every part of the process,” she said. “Really producers, I would argue, are the only ones that are on from day one all the way to the very, very end.”
Chang’s first job out of college introduced her to some of the harsher realities of the industry. She worked at Scott Rudin Productions as an assistant to Rudin, who is known for producing films such as “The Social Network” and “No Country for Old Men.” In 2021, Rudin was accused by many employees of abusive behavior.
“There’s no environment, I would argue, that is tougher to learn and grow up in – or at least, those environments no longer exist, hopefully,” Chang said.
After leaving Scott Rudin Productions, Chang worked for companies such as Creative Artists Agency and Anonymous Content, where she worked as the executive assistant to the president of the company’s film and television production arm AC Studios. After that, there was just one more thing she wanted to do.
“I’ve done the agency route, I’ve worked for a producer, I’ve worked at a studio,” Chang said. “I’ve seen the development side, all of the things. The only thing I’m really missing is production. I’ve never been on set for a feature. So that was my next goal.”
Chang ended up working on the set of “Eric LaRue,” Michael Shannon’s directorial debut. She later served as an associate producer on “The Bikeriders,” the Jeff Nichols film starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy. After “The Bikeriders,” however, Chang found that working on a big studio film, while creatively and professionally rewarding, had left her feeling a bit personally unfulfilled.
“I realized that through the grind of it all, I had kind of lost sight of what I care about,” she said. “What I care about is people, and I care about supporting their dreams, and I care about direct impact. I just wasn’t getting that.”
That’s when she came upon Rideback Rise, a nonprofit that supports mid-career POC artists making commercial film and television that reflects a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. Through her work with Rideback Rise, Chang found that perfect balance of professional and personal fulfillment and also met many of her current collaborators, including those working on “Dying is Fine.”
Chang said that this is the busiest job she’s had in a while. But, in so many ways, it’s also the easiest.
“I wake up easily, and I go to sleep well at night, because we’re doing the right thing,” Chang said. “We’re a nonprofit. There’s nothing in it for us. We’re not doing it because we are gonna profit off of any of these people. It’s not exploitative. It’s just for the good of movie making and helping people achieve their dreams.”
