Nina Yang Bongiovi

Award-winning producing partners, Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker have gained a stellar reputation for having in-depth knowledge of film financing, creative and physical producing, and a knack for discovering talent, like that of Ryan Coogler (Marvel’s Black Panther), whose first film, Fruitvale Station (2013) was produced by Forest and Nina.

Together under their banner, Significant Productions, Nina and Forest have produced a number of critically acclaimed films by auteur filmmakers, including Dope (2015) by Rick Famuyiwa, Songs MyBrothers TaughtMe (2015) by Chloe Zhao, Roxanne Roxanne (2018) by Michael Larnell, and Sorry to Bother You (2018) by Boots Riley. More recently, Forest and Nina produced Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut, Passing, based on Nella Larsen’s renowned Harlem Renaissance novel which sold to Netflix at Sundance 2021 for a Fall-Winter release. The producing duo is currently executive producing the premium tv series, “Godfather of Harlem,” with two seasons under their belt; and they continue to build impactful stories at Amazon Studios as part of their first-look pact in television. Nina and Forest are consistently in active development on a slate of multi-cultural feature films and television projects that they love.

Significant Productions’ mission is to create opportunities and push inclusivity for underrepresented narratives and storytellers by championing culturally significant films and television shows starring BIPOC talent, alongside diversified representation behind the camera.

Nina is a board member of Film Independent, The Oscar Grant Foundation, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), and The Producers Guild of America.

She is also a member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ (AMPAS) Producers Branch and the Television Academy. She is fluent in Mandarin, Chinese, and received her graduate degree in Entertainment Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. Nina also serves as the Associate Chair of the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC.