Asian Americans is a production of WETA Washington, D.C. and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) for PBS, in association with the Independent Television Service (ITVS), Flash Cuts and Tajima-Peña Productions. Engagement and Education Partner is Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles.

This opening program centers on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) activism and documenting the community. It features a sneak preview of an episode from PBS' upcoming Asian Americans, a groundbreaking public television five-part series, set to premiere in May 2020.

The series examines what the 2010 U.S. Census identifies as the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States. A rich array of archival footage, oral histories and interviews, and current news research presents a multi-faceted perspective on how the Asian American experience has been predominantly shaped by the long-term, community-focused work in equity and inclusion for accurate media representation, social and economic mobility, and human rights for all.

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 20th century to modern refugee crises in a globally connected world.

DCP, b/w & color, 60 min. Episode Producer: Grace Lee. Executive producer: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan for WETA; Stephen Gong, Donald Young for CAAM; Sally Jo Fifer for ITVS; Jean Tsien. Series producer: Renee Tajima-Peña. Producer for Flash Cuts: Eurie Chung. Episode producers: S. Leo Chiang, Geeta Gandbhir, Grace Lee. Lead scholarly advisor David K. Yoo. Project Executive is Stewart Kwoh. Project Director for Education Curriculum is Pat Kwoh.

"Pilgrimage" tells the inspiring story of how an abandoned WWII concentration camp for Japanese Americans has been transformed into a symbol of retrospection and solidarity for people of all ages, races and nationalities.

DCP, color, in English, 34 mins. Director: Tadashi Nakamura. Producers: Karen L. Ishizuka and Tadashi Nakamura. Executive Producer: Robert A. Nakamura and UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications.

An unscripted web series that empowers Asian American kids and all kids of color to embrace their identities, fight for social justice, and be the revolution. The Radical Cram School kids tell the life story of Detroit activist and American revolutionary, Grace Lee Boggs, as they recall it.

Digital, color, English, 5 min. Series Creator: Kristina Wong. Director: Jenessa Joffe.

This underrated American indie follows a Queens teen as he navigates high school, the basketball court, and life after losing his beloved older brother to an unexpected act of violence. Reminiscent of an early Spike Lee joint, this South Asian slice of life story subtlety registers the ongoing negotiations of identity, microaggressions, and enemy alien status faced by many AAPIs who look a certain way or worship a different higher power.

DCP, color, in English and Urdu, 77 min. Director and Producer: Tanuj Chopra. Screenwriters: Tanuj Chopra and Hart Eddy. Cast: Misu Khan, Nina Edmonds, Hassan El-Gendi.

An undocumented student shares her struggles being part of the DREAM Act.

Digital, color, in English, 5 min. Director and Producer: Tam Tran. Executive Producer: Visual Communications.

Special Note on Tam Tran: A beloved UCLA student specializing in Asian American Studies, an emerging filmmaker developing her storytelling at the Center for Ethnocommunications, and a good friend of Visual Communications, Tam Tran was part of the first group of undocumented students to attend college and enter graduate school. As a role model for a new generation of community leaders and activists, she testified in Congress for the passage of the DREAM Act. Growing up in Southern California as a Vietnamese-American in a working class immigrant family, she was “undocumented and unafraid” and risked disclosing her status to inspire others to come forth and fight for their rights. Tran was tragically killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver in 2010. We celebrate her courage and legacy here.

A short film that focuses on the unrepresented voices of the Southeast Asians that were affected by the Vietnam war. The Missing Piece project centers Southeast Asian experiences through a collective dedication at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Digital, color, in English, 10 min. Director and Producer: Daniel Luu. Executive Producer: UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications.

What happens when a group of kids cross the border into Puppetland where no humans are allowed?

Digital, color, English, 6 min. Series Creator: Kristina Wong. Director: Jenessa Joffe

The Undocumented Filmmakers Collective is a collective of undocumented filmmakers and immigrant rights activists.

Voted the #1 best Asian American film of the last 20 years in a recent L.A. Times poll, this Sundance trailblazer called attention to a burgeoning Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) independent cinema and a coterie of filmmakers making work about their lives and experiences as children of immigrants in a land that still saw them as perpetual foreigners. UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television alumnus Justin Lin's work broke the mold by presenting a less-than-perfect model minority youth combating both racism and their own skewed vision of themselves created by years of stereotypical media representation recycled in Hollywood and mainstream Western popular culture. We revisit this contemporary classic through a restorative justice framework with a panel of UCLA scholars, activists and special guests.

35mm, color, in English, 101 min. Director: Justin Lin. Screenwriters: Ernesto Foronda, Justin Lin, Fabian Marquez. Cast: Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang.

Fighting For Family tells the story of a family separated by deportation and incarceration, and their fight for reunification.

Digital, color, 35 min. Director: Lan Nguyen.

Hiyah, gweilos! It's all of us Asian and Asian American actors who embodied the mysterious "Orient" coming back to haunt you in this loving send-up of Hollywood's penchant for casting us as foreign baddies, evil henchmen, or exotic sidekicks for your white male heroes. Dypiangco and Epino co-star and co-direct a who's who of '70s and '80s Asian American actors in the ultimate A-Team scenario to celebrate their contributions to the genre.

DCP, color, English, 50 min. Director: Stephen Dypiangco, Patrick Epino. Screenwriters: Milton Liu. Cast: Stephen Dypiango, Patrick Epino, Tamlyn Tomita, Dante Basco, Yuji Okumoto, Randall Park, Al Leong, George Cheung.

A UCLA student recounts a traumatic experience that caused her close friend to be declared missing.

Digital, color, English, 3 min. Director: Linh Ngau, Michelle Shin, Mitchell Zia. Screenwriters: Linh Ngau, Michelle Shin, Mitchell Zia. Cast: Linh Ngau, Michelle Shin, Mitchell Zia.

A lonely middle-aged woman joins an old schoolmate in a pingpong club for moms that is more sinister than it seems.

Digital, color, in English and Mandarin, 26 min. Director: Shiang-An Chuang. Screenwriters: Shiang-An Chuang. Cast: Chuan Wang, Ying-Xuan Hsieh, Yuu Chen.

In the shadows of New York, the city's restless Asian youth navigate racial tension, bizarre scenarios... and each other.

Digital, color, in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, 18 min. Director: Keff. Screenwriters: Keff. Cast: Lyrica Okano, Rob Chen, Jae Shin.

The Big Bad Chinese Mama is back! One of UCLA centennial's "Our Stories, Our Impact" featured alumni, actor, comedienne, and performance artist Kristina Wong writes and stars in this one woman's concert film (based on her 2006 stage show) that riffs off and rips apart the white man machismo of its namesake through its thoughtful and hilarious examination of mental health, depression, and trauma from a decidedly AAPI female perspective.

DCP, color, English, 90 min. Director: Kristina Wong. Screenwriters: Kristina Wong. Cast: Kristina Wong.

Cynthia Leu recounts how powerlifting helps her body image and mental health and how she uses it to inspire others through social media.

Digital, color, English, 6 min. Director: Michael Chang, Tiffany Wong, Ryan Rodriguez, Janelle Sangalang.

Discussion of the Filipinx concept of hiya, as it relates to issues of mental health and the LGBTQ experience.

Digital, color, English, 9 min. Director: Arielle Bagood.

An unscripted web series that empowers Asian American kids and all kids of color to embrace their identities, fight for social justice, and be the revolution. Radical Cram School celebrates feminist boys with another original song and very original music video!

Digital, color, English, 3 min. Series Creator: Kristina Wong. Director: Jenessa Joffe.

Director Alice Wu's trailblazing feature debut—a heartwarming, lesbian romantic comedy between two Asian American women—followed on the heels of the whirlwind success of Better Luck Tomorrow and its wry observations about Asian masculinity and brotherhood. Both circulated the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) film festival circuit garnering momentum for breaking away from mainstream media stereotypes. At the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, they helped to launch the careers of its directors and casts. More than 15 years later, both indie films have not only survived the test of time, but continue to make many top film lists including the recent Los AngelesTimes poll of the best 20 Asian American films of the last 20 years.

However, Wu's progressive, normative depiction of queer female romance clashing against a Chinese immigrant context always gets overshadowed by the former's broader genre appeal. The budding romance of surgeon Wil (Michelle Krusiec) and dancer Vivian (Lynn Chen) finds a powerful counterpoint in Joan Chen's ostracized mother character, who can keep a secret as well. Helping to cement Asian American cinema as an independent cinema of critical and commercial merit, Wu (who is about to unveil the Netflix series, The Half Of It) and her well-rounded characters deserve our time of day more than ever.

35mm, color, English and Mandarin, 91 min. Director: Alice Wu. Screenwriter: Alice Wu. Cast: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen.

One of New Queer Cinema's key auteurs, Gregg Araki unleashed this surrealistic Starz television series barely a year ago. Its recent cancellation after only one season caught our attention because the series' premise of a close-knit group of sexually fluid millennials living in image-conscious and performative L.A. navigating love, sex and fame in the 21st century speaks a certain truth to a broader demographic than its intended target audience.

Digital, color, English, 29 min. Director: Gregg Araki. Screenwriter: Gregg Araki, Karley Sciortino. Cast: Avan Jogia, Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff.

College student and Star Wars fan Jesse undergoes gender-affirming top surgery during their first year in college which opens them up to further explore the gender spectrum.

Digital, color, English, 12 min. Director: Emory Johnson.

An unscripted web series that empowers Asian American kids and all kids of color to embrace their identities, fight for social justice, and be the revolution. Auntie Kristina introduces the Young Rebels to activist Mia Yamamoto, a Japanese American concentration camp survivor and trans women who inspires with stories from her life.

Digital, color, English, 6 min. Series Creator: Kristina Wong. Director: Jenessa Joffe.

Beyond the ubiquitous phenomenon of K-Pop and its infiltration into Western popular culture, we don't typically see many Asian faces nor hear Asian voices represented in the Western music industries. Koroma's documentary fills in the gaps by peering into the rich lives and musings of AAPI hip-hop artists and musicians Awkwafina, Dumbfoundead, Lyricks, and Rekstizzy, who all drop knowledge and share their respective, artistic journeys against all odds.

DCP, color, English, 82 min. Director: Salima Koroma. Screenwriters: Salima Koroma. Cast: Awkwafina, Dumbfoundead, Lyricks, Rekstizzy.

A portrait of an inspiring and innovative artist transcending the boundaries of puppetry and filmmaking. With his epic mythological storytelling, distinct mixed Japanese American aesthetic, and unique blend of live action tabletop puppetry and CGI animation, Sam Koji Hale leads a new generation of puppeteers.

Digital, color, English, 10 min. Director: Sumiko Braun.

Step into Asian American college dance group communities.

Digital, color, English, 6 min. Director: Jeana Cho, Jasmin Han, Jenny Tan.

Yumi Sakugawa is a multimedia artist and spiritualist based in Los Angeles, California. This film explores her process of creativity and sources of inspiration.

Digital, color, English, 7 min. Director: Kady Le.

Spun finds a space to honor their queer bodies through dance.

Digital, color, English, 6 min. Director: Ceci Sheng, Rino Kodama, Yen Dinh.

A mixed race Polynesian American talks about being a mother and an artist.

Digital, color, English, 6 min. Director: 'Inoke Hafoka.

The Khmer Arts Academy carries on Cambodian cultural dance and artistic traditions.

Digital, color, English, 3 min. Director: Daniel Luu, Leann Pham.

Yen and their immigrant parents use the Vietnamese language and V-Pop music to preserve their ethnic identities despite intergenerational differences.

Digital, color, English and Vietnamese, 8 min. Director: Yen Dinh.

Proudly presented by the Polynesian Voyaging Society and 'Ōiwi TV, Moananuiākea illustrates the crucial role of indigenous voices and perspectives in both storytelling and in creating paradigm-changing solutions to the world's most pressing problems. The film honors 'ike Hawai'i—traditional wisdom of our island culture—on a global stage. It extends the values of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage and the Hōkūle'a, a beacon of sustainability, unity and culture, beyond the voyaging community for perpetuation in the wider world. The voyage's groundbreaking conservation and preservation initiatives have already inspired countless new practices to protect our environment. The wildly successful revival of a traditional art that was nearly extinct has created a resurgence of pride and respect for native cultures and encourages the active rediscovery of forgotten cultural practices. A panel of UCLA scholars, community activists and special guests will discuss the challenges of climate change and the spirit of aloha.

DCP, color, in English, 148 min. Director: Nā'ālehu Anthony. Screenwriter: Bryson Hoe. Cast: Nainoa Thompson, Bill Blankenfeld, Kālepa Baybayan.

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television professor Gina Kim's culinary-centered, transnational family melodrama reinforces the truth that our hunger for comfort food and home are often invariably linked—and food competition shows will never fail in getting our taste buds salivating. So, why not stage a family reunion in the midst of the making of one? Such a premise gives us contemporary Asian cinema's grande dame, Michelle Yeoh (who is also an executive producer) as Julia, the glamorous host of a popular Shanghai-based cooking competition show.

DCP, color, English97 min. Director: Gina Kim. Screenwriters: George Huang, Gina Kim. Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Henry Lau, Chin Han.

Rediscovery of Filipinx American identity through Filipinx American cuisine.

Digital, color, English, 5 min. Director: Vanessa Codilla, Jenny Tan.

Celebrate Phoenix Bakery's 80th anniversary with the family behind this Chinese American bakery institution in the ever-evolving Chinatown, Los Angeles.

Digital, color, English, 15 min. Director: Janet Chen.

The latest collaboration from UCLA alumni actors/co-writers Ali Wong, Randall Park and Michael Golamco, who together co-founded and participated in LCC Theatre Group, the university's well-respected Asian American theater company. Harnessing and building on that #GoldOpen Crazy Rich Asians energy from last year's #AsianAugust, this Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)-centered rom com was released on Netflix and quickly became a broad hit.

DCP, color, English, 101 min. Director: Nahnatchka Khan. Screenwriter: Michael Golamco, Randall Park, Ali Wong. Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito.

We examine the evolution of the Asian American theater company LCC at UCLA, over its 23 years of development as it tackles issues of inclusivity and representation.

Digital, color, English, 8 min. Director: Arielle Bagood.

More information available on the Receptions page

Considered one of the most popular martial arts films of all time, this US/HK co-production fully captured Lee's immense screen presence, sinewy athleticism, and bona fides while elevating him into international stardom. As part of our 50th celebration, we unveil a special program on Bruce Lee and invite his friends and the community out for a night of reminiscing and reverie.

DCP, color, in English and Cantonese, 102 min. Director: Robert Clouse. Screenwriters: Michael Allin. Cast: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly.

Created as a star vehicle for Anna May Wong, the Los Angeles-born daughter of a Chinese immigrant family and the first Asian American female star in Hollywood, Paramount teamed her up with sympathetic French émigré director Robert Florey and high school friend/on-screen love interest Philip Ahn, as the first Asian G-man depicted on screen. Together, they elevate this B-movie thriller to another level with two Asian American lead characters, in an era of accepted yellowface where white actors often played Asian characters, and as a fresh departure, a plot centered around the villainy of its white characters.

35mm nitrate, b/w, 62 min. Director: Robert Florey. Screenwriters: Gladys Unger, Garnett Weston. Cast: Anna May Wong, Philip Ahn, Charles Pickford.

Stock footage shot for, but never used in, Hearst Metrotone news of Anna May Wong arriving on a Dollar Line boat, surrounded by a group of cameramen and newspapermen. She enters Park Hotel, and visits Star Motion Picture Studios and a flower market.

35mm print from the UCLA Film & Television Archive. b/w, silent, 8 min.