‘Slick Talk’ follows Kiki, a Chinese-American rapper from New York, on the day she is supposed to meet with a connected music manager. Leading up to the meeting, Kiki feels judged by family and strangers alike for her life decisions; she knows it’s uncommon to see someone like herself enter the hip-hop arena, but she sadly underestimates the world’s ability to mislabel her. The story unfolds over a single day and culminates with the anticipated meeting with her potential manager. For Kiki, her Chinese- American identity and burgeoning hip-hop career are completely separate parts of who she is, but she slowly discovers that, to the people around her, they couldn’t be more intertwined.

Courtney Zhì-Xián Loo is a Chinese-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her work across mediums brings rich characters and journeys to new audiences through grounded storytelling with a touch of magical realism. Her short films include Slick Talk, which premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, and Post Office, which premiered at the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival and was named a Vimeo Staff Pick. Both narrative films draw on Courtney’s lived experiences as a Chinese-American woman and examine themes of identity, language, and female objectification. Courtney’s commercial work includes projects for Honda and Athletic Greens, and she has collaborated with talent including Kehlani, Allyson Felix, Pink Sweat$, KIRBY, 6lack, and D Smoke. She is also the co-founder of the music management company Thrice Cooked. Her instincts for music and sound inform the rhythm and emotional waves of the stories she writes and directs. Courtney is currently a 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Intensive Fellow where she is working on writing her debut feature film Bangbang Teahouse. She is represented by Institute for commercials and branded content, and WME and Entertainment 360 for film and television.