'Asian Americans': New PBS documentary chronicles the Asian American story

Groundbreaking new five-part documentary series to air on public television in May 2020.



Mark your calendars. This week, PBS and WETA officially announced the groundbreaking new five-part documentary series Asian Americans, currently in production and set for national broadcast on PBS stations in May 2020, during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Told through individual lives and personal histories, the series explores the impact of the Asian American story on the country's past, present, and future.

Led by a team of Asian American filmmakers, including Academy Award-nominated series producer Renee Tajima-Peña, Asian Americans examines the significant role of Asian Americans in shaping American history and identity, from the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s and identity politics during the social and cultural turmoil of the twentieth century to modern refugee crises in a globally connected world.

More from PBS' press release:

Wake, Play, Slay: Asian American Women in Comedy

Panel Discussion on Wednesday, November 1 at NBCUniversal



If you're in Southern California, Comcast NBCUniversal and the Center for Asian American Media invite you to Wake, Play, Slay: Asian American Women in Comedy, a panel discussion highlighting female voices in comedy that are using laughter to tackle difficult and timely issues. The lineup includes Jenny Yang, Colleen McGuinness, Geeta Patel, Tess Paras and moderator Traci Lee.

It's happening Wednesday, November 1 at NBCUniversal. Here are some more details:

How 'The Chinese Exclusion Act' documentary reunited a family with lost home movie footage

The story of how the footage made its way to CAAM, into 'The Chinese Exclusion Act' and back to its family.



In November 2014, the Center for Asian American Media published a blog post asking for help identifying a "mystery film" that had come to CAAM's Memories to Light: Asian American Home Movies initiative.

The footage shows a birthday party for a family elder in either the 1940s or 1950s. It is entirely in black and whtie and shows many family members in attendance. The family is made up of people of all ages, with the women wearing cheongsames (qipaos) and the men wearing Western suits. The family elder wears a dark suit and is frequently shown holding a framed golden peach, a symbol of longevity.

The blog post was shared by this blog and other outlets, but nobody stepped forward to claim the footage. It seemed to remain an eternal mystery, just another unclaimed home movie languishing in an archive. Now, in the PBS and CAAM co-produced documentary The Chinese Exclusion Act, that footage has been used and incorporated into a larger history -- and as a result of it, the footage has been reunited with its family.

Win tickets to CAAMFest 2017

March 9-19 in San Francisco and Oakland



Bay Area film fans! This one's for you. The Center for Asian American Media presents CAAMFest 2017, the nation's premiere event showcasing and celebrating bold and vibrant Asian American stories and storytellers. The 11-day festival, celebrating its 35th year, runs March 9-19 in San Francisco and Oakland.

The festival kicks off on Thursday, March 9 with the Opening Night Gala screening of Lena Khan's comedy The Tiger Hunter, starring Danny Pudi as an ambitious young man who leaves his small Indian village in pursuit of the American dream. Anybody want to go? I'm giving away some free tickets. Scroll down for details.

But first, here's the CAAMFest 2017 trailer:

Life Imitating Art Imitating Life

By Hudson Yang. Cross-Posted from CAAM.

Hey all, I'm Hudson Yang, and I play Eddie Huang on ABC's Fresh Off the Boat. You probably know Eddie is based on the real Eddie Huang, who's an amazing chef and writer -- his restaurant Bauhaus in NYC is the bomb, and he's opening one in LA soon, yeaaahhhh. Eddie's memoir about growing up as a Taiwanese American kid in Orlando, Florida turned into our show.

When they cast me as Eddie, they did it in part because in a lot of ways, we're alike. I mean, it's not just that we kind of look alike: We say what's on our minds and we do what we feel like we gotta do, and we both really love food.

I always have, since I was a little kid. My grandma on my mom's side, who lived with us, would cook all the time — it was her way to show that she loved us. I grew up on amazing Taiwanese food (and leftovers from the food, and leftovers from the leftovers….). She let me help her cook, showing me how to use a knife the right way to peel vegetables, stirring the pot. Once I got burned and my dad flipped out. But I told him it was my fault and that I'd be more careful. I kept on helping my grandma…and even when I got burned again, I pretended it didn't happen so he wouldn't know until it healed.

CAAM seeks Festival, Media Fund and Memories to Light Interns

Intern with the Center for Asian American Media this summer.



The Center for Asian American Media in San Francisco is seeking skilled, enthusiastic individuals who are interested in interning with their Festival, Media Fund and Memories to Light teams in Summer/Fall 2016.

These are part-time and unpaid positions that provide hands-on training and professional development for individuals seeking to develop a career in programming, marketing, fundraising, event planning, media arts and the non-profit sector. Interns also have the opportunity to meet and network with film and media makers, industry professionals and community organizations.

Here are some more details about the internships:

See you at CAAMFest 2016

A celebration of film, music, food and digital media, March 10-20



Bay Area film fans, it's on. CAAMFest 2016 is going down March 10-20 in San Francisco and Oakland. Presented by the Center for Asian American Media, CAAMFest is an 11-day celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world's most innovative Asian and Asian American artists.

This year, the Festival adds new venues in the Mission district. In addition to the historic Castro Theatre, New People Cinema in Japantown and the New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CAAMFest adds the venerable 106-year-ld Roxie Theater and the newly minted Alamo Drafthouse to its slate of venues.

CAAMFest showcases the work of new Asian and Asian American artists and pays tribute to the pioneers who have paved the way for Asian Americans in media and entertainment. The festival kicks of Thursday, March 9 with the Opening Night screening of the feature documentary Tyrus, celebrating the life and career of pioneering Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong.

Here's the CAAMFest 2016 trailer:

Win tickets to CAAMFest 2016

See you at the Opening Night Gala Screening of 'Tyrus' on March 10.



Bay Area! This one's for you. The Center for Asian American Media presents CAAMFest 2016, an 11-day celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world's most innovative Asian and Asian American artists, running March 10-20 in San Francisco and Oakland.

The festivities kick off next Thursday with the Opening Night Gala screening of Tyrus, a documentary portrait about the art, life, and enduring impact of 105 year­-old pioneering Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong. Anybody want to go? I'm giving away some free tickets. Scroll down for details.

First, here's the CAAMFest 2016 trailer:

CAAMFest 2016 Launch Party

Thursday, February 11 at Mercer SF



San Francisco! Are you ready to get hyped for CAAMFest 2016? Then join CAAM for the official CAAMFest 2016 Launch Party. Drink, dance and mingle with community folks, and be among the first to get your hands on the film festival guide. It's happening Thursday, February 11 at Mercer SF.

Here are some more details about the party:

'Off the Menu: Asian America' available for online streaming

You can watch Grace Lee's food documentary on PBS.org until January 5.



The feature documentary Off the Menu: Asian America, produced by CAAM and KQED, is a road trip to the kitchens, factories, temples and farms of Asian Pacific America that explores how our relationship to food reflects our evolving communities. From Texas to New York and from Wisconsin to Hawaii, award-winning filmmaker Grace Lee takes audiences on a journey using our obsession with food as a launching point to delve into a wealth of stories, traditions, and unexpected characters that help nourish this nation of immigrants.

This is not your typical food travelogue. If you missed the public television broadcast of Off the Menu: Asian America, the film is currently available for streaming in its entirety on PBS.org until January 5.

Check it out:

Old school Star Wars fans duel in vintage home movie

CAAM's Memories to Light presents Brian and Lynda Gee, circa 1978.



The Center for Asian American Media's Memories to Light program is a national, community-sourced initiative to collect, preserve and share the home movies (on 16mm, 8mm, and super 8mm film) and experiences of Asian American communities from across the United States from the 1920s through the 1980s.

In celebration of the holidays and the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (heard of it?) CAAM recently shared this special clip from the Gee family movie collection. Shot at the Gee family home in Sacramento (circa 1978), the scene shows O.G. Star Wars fans Brian and Lynda battling it out as Darth Vader and C3P0.

The clip is set to The Tonight Show's a cappella rendition of the Star Wars theme. Check it out:

The Folks Behind 'Off the Menu: Asian America' Share Their Favorite Food Stories

Guest Post by Momo Chang



I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's Momo Chang of the Center for Asian American Media.

Hello, my name is Momo Chang, and I’m the Content Manager at the Center for Asian American Media, and a freelance journalist. CAAM is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian Americans by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, TV and digital media. As part of my job, I’ve had the great fortune to work on a multimedia food project entitled Off the Menu: Asian America, a companion website of food stories, essays and recipes to support the film by the same name.

Off the Menu: Asian America is a PBS documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker Grace Lee, which premieres nationally on Monday, December 8, 2015 (check local listings). Co-produced by CAAM and KQED, Off the Menu is a road trip into the kitchens, factories, temples and farms of Asian Pacific America that explores how our relationship to food reflects our evolving community. To celebrate the release of the film, we’re also holding an #OfftheMenuAsianAmerica recipe contest.

I asked some of the filmmakers of Off the Menu: Asian America and some of the talented folks who contributed their personal essays, photos, artwork, recipes and articles to the website, about their favorite foods or food moments with the Angry Asian Man blog. Here’s what they said:

Donate to CAAM's Memories to Light Campaign

Home movie initiative helps preserve Asian American memories and experiences.



The Center for Asian American Media's Memories to Light: Asian American Home Movies initiative is a project to collect and digitize home movies and to share them -- and the stories they tell -- to a broad public.

For the past three years, CAAM's Memories to Light team has gathered, archived, and digitized home movies from 19 families -- comprising 180 films totaling about 15 hours of footage, spanning six decades. The films represent diverse communities including Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Thai American and mixed-race families, representing twelve states and the District of Columbia.

CAAM is now ready to take Memories to Light to the next level, and is asking for your support to make it happen. They've launched a campaign to raise funds that will help them collect and preserve more home movies from diverse Asian and Asian American communities from all 50 states.

Watch this video for more information about the project:

Watch 11 documentaries on public TV for AAPI Heritage Month

Presented by CAAM. Check your local PBS and public TV stations for schedules.



Throughout the month of May, in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, CAAM is presenting an exciting documentary slate of broadcasting eleven films on national public television.

The schedule includes Wayne Wang's latest film Soul of a Banquet, Ursula Liang's sports doc 9-Man, and the PBS broadcast of Filipino American Lives, a three-part series hosted by Tony-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga. All you have to do is turn on the tube to enjoy these awesome programs that highlight the fascinating, diverse, untold stories from the broad spectrum of the Asian Pacific American community.

Here's the list of this year's programming -- check your local PBS station for schedules:

CAAM presents CAAMFest 2015

March 12-22 in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland



Bay Area film lovers! It's getting about time for one of my favorite events of the year. CAAMFest, formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, returns with another exciting celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world's most innovative Asian and Asian American artists.

CAAMFest 2015 will showcase the work of new Asian and Asian American artists, as well as pay tribute to the pioneers who have paved the way for Asian Americans in media and entertainment. It's all going down March 12-22 in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. This kick off Thursday, March 12 with Opening Night Gala presentation of writer/director Benson Lee's coming-of-age comedy Seoul Searching.

Here's a rundown of some of CAAMFest's programming highlights:

Call for Proposals: 2015 CAAM Documentary Fund

Production or post-production funding available for documentaries intended for public television broadcast.



Hey you, documentary filmmakers. The Center for Asian American Media is putting call out for independent producers who are interested in producing documentaries for public television broadcast. With the support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CAAM is accepting applications for the 2015 Documentary Fund.

The CAAM Documentary Fund provides awards that typically range between $15,000 and $50,000. Documentaries are eligible for production or post-production funding and must be intended for public television broadcast. The application deadline is February 16.

Watch these cool Asians teach you some math.

CAAM videos use cultural and artistic diversity to teach middle school math lessons.


This is pretty cool. The Center for Asian American Media has produced a series of short videos that use cultural and artistic diversity -- and a little bit of ukulele -- to teach middle school math lessons.

Learn Middle School Math with CAAM and PBS LearningMedia

The 2-5 minute videos were produced, written and directed by Kar Yin Tham, CAAM's director of education initiatives, who says she wanted to make diversity "the central starting point" in the lessons.

"The challenge was to figure out what math concepts were inherent in each artistic or cultural tradition, and how to best present them. To accomplish this, we collaborated with math educators, artists, musicians, and community based organizations."

Some of the collection's highlights include:

Holiday Giving: Donate to the Center for Asian American Media

Support CAAM and be a champion for Asian American stories.



Looking for a worthy cause to donate some holiday cash? Throughout the month of December, I'll try to spotlight projects, causes and organizations that could use support through your generous giving.

Want to be a champion for Asian American stories? Support the Center for Asian American Media, whose mission is to bring Asian American stories and experiences to light through the power of media. Your gift will support CAAM's work to inform, educate, inspire and represent diverse media voices through public media.

But don't take my word for it. Here are my pals Steven and Patrick of National Film Society:

Is your family in this lost home movie footage?

Help CAAM identify the Japanese American family, circa 1939 San Francisco, in this old home movie reel.



The Center for Asian American Media's Memories to Light is a project to collect, digitize and share home movies -- and the stories they tell -- to a broad public. The footage is donated by friends and family looking to archive their home movies, but they occasionally acquire donated "orphan films" without any details associated with them -- no names, dates or locations written on the reels.

CAAM is putting a call out to the community to help them identify the subjects in one of their recent acquisitions. The 16mm Kodachrome footage features a Japanese American family living in San Francisco in 1939. Do you recognize any of the people in this footage? Maybe it's your family! It's a mystery.

Take a look at the footage:

CAAMFest San Jose, September 4-7

Presented by the Center For Asian American Media



Bay Area! South Bay film fans, specifically. This one's for you. The Center for Asian American Media proudly presents the return of CAAMFest San Jose, a four-day festival of film premieres, conversations with media makers and parties. It's happening September 4-7 at Camera 3 Cinema in downtown San Jose.

CAAMFest San Jose kicks off with a special screening of Rea Tajiri's Yuri Kochiyama: Passion For Justice, commemorating the life and legacy of Yuri Kochiyama. Screenings and events, including the Opening Night screening of Geeta and Ravi Patel's Meet the Patels, continue throughout the rest of the weekend.

Here this year's CAAMFest San Jose PSA: