Chi Hongyu always had a fascination with film, so much so that when he finished his studies he created a technology company that made film applications for the iPhone. Little did Chi know that his app would help a filmmaker reach gold - Oscar gold.

Chi, 41, the CEO of Nexvio Inc, specializes in making video and photography applications for the iPhone and iPad. Based in Seattle, Nexvio's 8mm Vintage Camera was released on the iOS app store in 2011. Back then, Chi was confident the app would be a success.

"We were always confident in that our app was made with quality and the user experience in mind," says Chi, who is from Changchun, Jilin province. "Our app was used by many filmmakers making music videos and shorts."