Writer and director He Shuming has signed with Sugar23, the multimedia and management company founded by Oscar-winning producer, manager and entrepreneur Michael Sugar.

The signing comes following He’s breakout debut feature “Ajoomma,” about a widow obsessed with Korean soap operas who travels abroad for the first time to Seoul, finding more than she had bargained for in the process. That movie collected several nominations and prizes on the film festival circuit. It premiered at the 2022 Busan International Film Festival in the New Currents section; was nominated at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Film; received four nominations at the Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, including Best New Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actor; and won the Film AIUla Audience Award for Best Film at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

“Ajoomma” was also Singapore’s entry for Best International Feature for this year’s Academy Awards.

Born and raised in Singapore, He was awarded the prestigious Young Artist prize in 2019 by the National Arts Council and is a graduate of the directing program at the American Film Institute Conservatory. 

He is represented by Sugar23’s Sukee Chew.

Sugar Is one of the most successful forces in movies and television, with credits that include such award-winning projects as “Spotlight,” “The Knick,” “The OA,” “Maniac,” “13 Reasons Why,” and “I Am the Night.” More recent credits include “Dickinson” on Apple TV+, starring Hailee Steinfeld and Jane Krakowski, and the Netflix feature “The Laundromat” directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, and Antonio Banderas. Sugar23 currently has a first-look film deal and an overall television deal, both in place with Netflix.

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