The Gold Gala, the annual ceremony honoring Asian Pacific entertainment and cultural tastemakers, returned to downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night.

The dinner gala brought several high-profile guests to the Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza on a warm evening for food (from James Beard Award-winning chef Lord Maynard Llera), performances (including one from honoree Laufey) and community.

Actor Daniel Dae Kim kicked off the night with a short introduction, highlighting the evening’s main peg: Gold House’s A100 list, which celebrates the year’s most culturally impactful Asian Pacific tastemakers across various industries. Director Jon M. Chu was the first honoree of the night, presented with the A1 in Entertainment Award by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Janet Yang, actor Harry Shum Jr. and performer Hayley Kiyoko.

“There are filmmakers who make movies and then there are filmmakers who make art. And then those who do both, transporting us to worlds we never imagined while speaking to the most personal depths of our souls, our humanities. Jon M. Chu is one of those filmmakers,” Yang told the crowd.

“Jon, I’ve been stalking you ever since your USC student days, when you made an unbelievably mature short film that caught everyone’s attention, including Steven Spielberg. I’m going to continue stalking you all the way until you win your own Oscar,” she added, met with cheers from the crowd.

Chu took the stage to Wicked’s iconic battle cry song, “Defying Gravity,” immediately thanking Yang for years of support and Gold House founder Bing Chen. Chu recalled his decision to adapt Crazy Rich Asians for the screen, calling the ensemble cast “the best damn Asian Avengers we could find.” The director thanked those in the API community who supported the blockbuster romantic comedy.

“We’re not just guests at the table anymore, we’re building the damn house. And guess what? It’s made of gold,” Chu told the audience. “We’re got more work to do, and I’m ready if you all are, because as a wise green girl once said, ‘Nobody, in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever going to bring us down.’”

Director Ang Lee was the recipient of two awards of the night, the Gold Legend Honor and the Gold Generation Honor for his Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The legendary director noted he was touched to receive the award from the crew of young Asian filmmakers who presented him with the award. “I’m not ready to pass the torch yet,” he joked to the young filmmakers. “You just have to work harder.”

Lee noted he never thought he’d make films in the U.S., but that for the last 35 years he’s been working hard, focusing only on the movies he’s working on. He said that looking back on the last three and half decades made him realize how lonely he was and how far the community has come. “I was very lonely when I was here, but look at you, the filmmakers, all the things you’ve done,” he said. “How proud am I to be a part of this celebration of Asian creative powers, our heart, and most importantly, our voice.”

Singer Laufey, the directors and star of Moana 2, Olympians Suni Lee, Lee Kiefer, Torri Huske and Chuck Aoki, tech CEO Aravind Srinivas, musician Anderson .Paak, Pokemon company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, author Min Jin Lee, rapper Megan Thee Stallion and the L.A. Wildlife Heroes were also honored during Saturday night’s gala. The Hollywood Reporter’s co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan was one of this year’s A100 honorees. The full A100 can be found on Gold House’s website.