Baldwin Chiu and his family are the subjects of Far East Deep South and he teamed up with his wife, Larissa Lam, to produce the film. He is a graduate of the ACT One film producing program. He previously produced the award-winning documentary short, Finding Cleveland, and serves as producer on an upcoming film by director Jason Poon, Sleight of Heart. He was born in San Francisco and raised in Sacramento, where he later graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Chiu is also a motivational speaker and rapper known by his stage name, Only Won. His music video, “Dim Sum,” an homage to classic kung fu flicks was an official selection at the Sacramento Film Festival and Asians on Film Festival. His clever and witty videos like “Cantonese Boy” & “I Wanna Be an Engineer” have gone viral with over one million views on YouTube. He was previously a spokesperson for the Intel/White House campaign, “Stay With It,” and produced digital content promoting careers in science and engineering under the Obama administration. Chiu’s songs were featured in the video game “Sleeping Dogs” and the film “Dead Man Down” starring Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard. Chiu is also an actor who has appeared in films such as The Pursuit of Happyness, The Hulk and The Matrix.
In 2018, Baldwin was named an Honoree for Mandarin Leader Magazine recognizing excellence amongst Chinese in North America, and he is also the recipient of Sacramento State’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award. Additionally, Chiu has been a speaker on numerous panels addressing race, immigration, and Asian American representation in the media.
