May is AAPI Heritage Month! Throughout the month you can watch documentaries about Asian America and beyond, including many recent CAAM-supported films on PBS and its website and YouTube channel.
From personal family histories and immigrant experiences to food, identity, healing, and community, these documentaries and programs spotlight voices that continue to shape our understanding of the world around us.
Titles include:
ASIAN AMERICANS — A five-part series exploring the history, experiences, and contributions of Asian Americans in the U.S.
HOME IS A HOTEL — A look at the lives of immigrant tenants in San Francisco over six years.
LIGHT OF THE SETTING SUN — A four-generation family story exploring war, mental health, and healing across China, Taiwan, and the U.S.
LUCKY CHOW — Host Danielle Chang explores Asian influences on food and culture across Europe in the series’ eighth season.
THIRD ACT — Tad Nakamura reflects on the life and legacy of his father, pioneering filmmaker Robert Nakamura.
Scroll through to see broadcast and streaming dates, or check your local listings and learn more in our latest article, link in bio.
@rtajimapena@tadashinakamurafilms@thirdactfilm@luckychowtv@homeisahotel@pbs@eurie.ka@geetagandbhir
CAAM has embarked on an ambitious fundraising initiative: CAAM’s Campaign for the Future of Storytelling – to build on our promise to strengthen and sustain vital narratives about the Asian American experience, now and in the future.
With the loss of federal funding for CAAM and at a time when stories about Asian America are at risk of erasure, your support means everything.
If you care about the future of storytelling in America, please consider making a 100% tax-deductible donation to CAAM. Supporting CAAM isn’t just about helping one organization; it’s about investing in the infrastructure that allows more diverse, challenging, and necessary stories to exist.
To learn more and support, visit our link in bio or /caams-campaign-for-the-future-of-storytelling/
Our community packed the Asian Art Museum for the CAAMFest Opening Night Gala, Featuring delicious bites and bevvies, beats by DJ Linda Lo and DJ Rekha, and a chance to explore the museum’s exhibits and experience the new Acura ADX. Thank you to everyone who joined us for another fantastic year of CAAMFest!
Special thanks to our Opening Night Gala Sponsors, Acura and the Asian Art Museum!
Photo credit: Justin Chu
@Acura@asianartmuseum
Congratulations to the winners of the CAAMFest 2026 Awards! 🎉
Thank you for sharing your stories, visions, and incredible films with our audiences this year.
- Narrative Feature Award: FORGE directed by Jing Ai Ng
- Honorable Mention: HONEYJOON directed by Lilian T. Mehrel
- Documentary Feature Award: BEFORE THE MOON FALLS directed by Kimberlee Bassford
- Honorable Mentions: UNCOMMITTED directed by Razi Jafri and TRACES OF HOME directed by Colette Ghunim
- Audience Award: SEAT AT THE TABLE directed by Sarita Khurana and Yoav Attias
- InspirASIAN Graduate Student Award and Loni Ding Award: BRIDGING OUR STORIES directed by Rafael Bitanga
- InspirASIAN Undergraduate Student Award: SWEET FAREWELL directed by Cynthia Nguyen
To read more, read our latest article on CAAMedia.org or link in bio.
Photo credits: Francis David Bustos, Justin Chu, Bob Hsiang
@att_inspirasian@dvd.blu@thejustinchu
If you’ve seen Traces of Home, what did you think? This is a testimonial from our sold out Closing Night screening at @caamedia last weekend!
🎥: @thesamaniist
We still have the following screenings coming up and tickets are onsale now at the link in our bio! We’d love to see you all there!
Los Angeles, CA - 5/28
Philadelphia, PA - 6/6
CAAMFest 2026 would not be possible without the incredible generosity of our sponsors, foundation & government supporters, and in-kind donors. From all of us here at CAAM, thank you for helping bring this year’s festival to life.
Thank you to everyone who packed our sold out theater for the CAAMFest Closing Night film, TRACES OF HOME, directed by 2024 CAAM Fellow Colette Ghunim. Our CAAM Board co-chair Dipti Ghost moderated the Q&A. We closed out CAAMFest 2026 with a reminder of the power of telling our stories, even the hard ones., We are grateful to everyone who was part of this year’s festival!
Scroll through to see highlights from the evening.
This film was supported by CAAM’s Building Bridges Documentary Fund with support from the Doris Duke Foundation.
Photo credit: Justin Chu
@cocos.sanctuary@tracesofhome@islamicscholarshipfund@denatakruri@sasonicra@dorisdukefdn
That’s a wrap! CAAMFest 2026 was another one for the books. Thank you to everyone who showed out for an unforgettable SOLD OUT Opening Night!
Special guests for CAAMFest Opening Night, including three of the AAPI trailblazers featured in our Opening Night film, THE A LIST: 15 Stories from Asian and Pacific Diasporas, directed by Eugene Yi. Participants Manny Crisostomo, DJ Rekha, and Schuyler Bailar joined us on the red carpet, along with executive producer and photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, producer Jada Yuan, and HBO SVP of Documentary Programming Tina Nguyen. DJ Rekha closed out the evening by spinning their trademark beats at the Opening Night Gala at the Asian Art Museum.
🎥Videography RJ Lozada
Additional videography @newsbymj
Thank you for joining us at our Filmmaker Summit panel, BAD ASIANS, GOOD TROUBLE at CAAMFest 2026! Where we celebrated bold narratives and explored how the stories we tell have the power to reshape culture and rewrite the rules.
Scroll through to see some highlights from the conversation.
Photo credit: Joseph McCalip (Light & Form Studio)
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Manny Crisostomo from THE A LIST shared some behind-the-scenes captures from our Opening Night! Scroll through to see more.
Photo credits: Manny Crisostomo @mannycphotos
Thank you for making CAAMFest 2026 a success!
Over four incredible days, we gathered in San Francisco Japantown, from Opening Night at AMC Kabuki to the Asian Art Museum for our Opening Night Gala and the Filmmaker Summit at KOHO.
Thank you all for showing up and making this year’s festival so special.
Photo credits: CA Photobooth @caphotobooth
Last chance to see films at CAAMFest!
🎞️ Closing Night Film: TRACES OF HOME (at Rush) @cocos.sanctuary@tracesofhome
⚾ DIAMOND DIPLOMACY 2pm @diamondiplomacy@yurikoromer
📽️ SHAKTI 3pm @naniswalker
✊ DEFIANT TO THE LAST 3:30 pm (FREE, SFPL Koret Auditorium)
🍿 LOVE MASSACRE 4pm
🧵 THE AUNTIE SEWING SQUAD 4:15 PM
These shows are all at the AMC Kabuki in Japantown. Get the details and tickets at CAAMFest.com
