Tired of all the football on TV? Stuffed with turkey and need to take a mental health break from the nonsense coming out of the White House or the latest depressing figures of the pandemic?
Broadway star and Disney queen Lea Salonga invites you to watch her CAAM-produced "Lea Salonga In Concert With the Sydney Symphony Orchestra" on Great Performances @GPerfPBS #BroadwayOnPBS tonight, Friday, November 27 9/8c.
More than anything, Salonga wants viewers to come away from the program feeling uplifted after a particularly tumultuous year.
This isn’t the first time the legendary vocalist has worked with CAAM; in 2015, she recorded an introduction to a CAAM-produced PBS broadcast documentary called Filipino American Lives which included films like Harana and Jeepney.
Her concert will feature songs from musical hits from Les Miserables and Miss Saigon that she made famous to iconic Disney songs from Aladdin and Mulan that she sang for the animated features
“I hope that the excitement that we all feel is contagious and that everybody that watches it feels our joy and our spirit,” Salonga says. “Hopefully that comes through the screen [and] people feel… optimism that things will get better.”
It has been years in the making but Asian Americans will finally air on May 11 and 12, at 8 p.m. on your local PBS station.
The 5-part documentary series examines what the 2010 U.S. Census identifies as the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States. Told through individual lives and personal histories, Asian Americans explores the impact of this group on the country’s past, present, and future. The television series chronicles the fastest growing racial/ethnic group's history in the United States and examines the role Asian Americans have played in shaping America. More specifically, the Asian American-led series explores the impact Asian Americans have had on the country, from the1850s Asian immigrants lured by the California Gold Rush to modern refugee crises to the fight for desegregation and education equality. "Although Asian Americans have significantly shaped national identity through educational change, most Americans may be unfamiliar with such efforts," says Stewart Kwoh, Executive Director and President of Advancing Justice – Los Angeles and who championed the need for such a comprehensive documentary.
Kwoh continued, "It is fitting the documentary launches this month during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month because there is so much people do not understand about our culture and how much we are woven into the fabric of this country's historical tapestry."
Summaries of each episodes are below:
EPISODE 1: BREAKING GROUND(Monday, 8 p.m.)
In an era of exclusion and U.S. empire, new immigrants arrive from China, India, Japan, the Philippines and beyond. Barred by anti-Asian laws they become America’s first “undocumented immigrants,” yet they build railroads, dazzle on the silver screen, and take their fight for equality to the U.S. Supreme Court.
EPISODE 2: A QUESTION OF LOYALTY (Monday, 9 p.m.)
An American-born generation straddles their country of birth and their parents’ homelands in Japan and Korea. Those loyalties are tested during World War II, when families are imprisoned in detention camps, and brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the battle lines.
EPISODE 3: GOOD AMERICANS(Tuesday, 8 p.m.)
During the Cold War years, Asian Americans are simultaneously heralded as a Model Minority, and targeted as the perpetual foreigner. It is also a time of bold ambition, as Asian Americans aspire for the first time to national political office and a coming culture-quake simmers beneath the surface.
EPISODE 4: GENERATION RISING (Tuesday, 9 p.m.)
During a time of war and social tumult, a young generation fights for equality in the fields, on campuses and in the culture, and claim a new identity: Asian Americans. The war’s aftermath brings new immigrants and refugees who expand the population and the definition of Asian America.
EPISODE 5: BREAKING THROUGH(Tuesday 10 p.m.)
At the turn of the new millennium, the national conversation turns to immigration, race, and economic disparity. As the U.S becomes more diverse, yet more divided, a new generation of Asian Americans tackle the question, how do we as a nation move forward together?
Asian Americans joined the civil rights campaigns in the late 60s and 70s.
Five hours doesn't seem enough time and there are sure to be some questions on what is not included in what has been described as a comprehensive look at Asian Americans' impact on the US. Fears have been expressed that the series will emphasize an East Asian perspective and overlook the contributions and history of Hmong Americans, Filipino Americans and South Asians. The producers say they took great pains to make sure that the voices go beyond the Japanese, Chinese and Korean communities.
Hopefully, teachers and students working out of their homes will take advantage of this series for their social studies, government and history classes. A full K-12 education curriculum will bring this historical significance and more to light with engaging digital content from the series. Through the new curriculum, the history of the Asian American experience will be available for current and future generations and for all communities of color to explore the history, contributions, and complexities of Asian Americans. “These are American stories: stories of resilience in the face of racism, of overcoming challenges as refugees from war and strife, of making contributions in all sectors of society: business, technology, military service, and the arts, said Stephen Gong, Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media. "These Asian American experiences and voices provide a vital foundation for a future fast approaching, in which no single ethnic or racial group defines America, in which shared principles will define who we are as Americans.”
Asian Americans is a production of WETA Washington, D.C. and CAAM for PBS, in association with the Independent Television Service (ITVS), Flash Cuts, and Tajima-Peña Productions – the company behind Who Killed Vincent Chin? and No Más Bebés.
A mural, created by seven Filipino artists and donated to the Philippine-Louisiana Historical Society, depicts the lives of Louisiana's Manilamen, the Filipino settlers who founded the first permanent Asian American settlement in the New World probably in the late 1500s.
ASAM NEWS PBS and WETA announced Monday a new five-part documentary series on Asian Americans, scheduled to broadcast in May 2020 for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. According to press materials, as welcome as the project will be, it apparently will be skipping the opening chapters of Asian American history. A unique aspect of the limited series is that Asian Americans will be looking at the significant role of Asians Americans in shaping US history and identity from the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s, according to a press release. “These are American stories: stories of resilience in the face of racism, of overcoming challenges as refugees from war and strife, of making contributions in all sectors of society: business, technology, military service, and the arts," said Stephen Gong, Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media.
The series is helmed by a team of Asian American filmmakers, including the Academy Award-nominated series producer Renee Tajima-Peña (Who Killed Vincent Chin?). “As America’s home for documentaries, PBS is committed to telling stories that illuminate and celebrate the rich diversity of our country,” said Paula Kerger, PBS President and CEO. “We are proud to share this important series with our audiences, and to deepen understanding about the extraordinary impact of Asian Americans on our national identity.” Unfortunately, by apparently focusing on East Asian migration, the series would omit any mention of the first documented arrival of Asians setting foot in the New World off the California coast in 1587, or the founding of the first permanent settlement in the Louisiana bayous in the late 1500s by Filipino seamen who escaped their forced service on the Spanish galleons.
PBS is making this a Multiplatform initiative that will consider what it means to be a US citizen. Sharon Percy Rockefeller, President and CEO of WETA, said, “Following our previous series, The Jewish Americans, The Italian Americans and Latino Americans, WETA remains committed to revealing the significant stories of the entire American people.”
“We are proud to support the Center for Asian American Media for the important work they do bringing programs about the Asian American experience to public media and audiences across the country,” said Pat Harrison, CPB president and CEO. Executive producers are Jeff Bieber and Dalton Delan for WETA; Stephen Gong and Donald Young for CAAM; Sally Jo Fifer for ITVS; and Jean Tsien.
“We are proud to have WETA as a partner on this milestone series, which weaves the histories of many Asian American communities within the broad sweep of American history,” said Gong.
"These Asian American experiences and voices provide a vital foundation for a future fast approaching, in which no single ethnic or racial group defines America, in which shared principles will define who we are as Americans.” VIEWS FROM THE EDGE contributed to this report.
CAAM provides production funding to independent producers for national public television.
Documentaries are eligible for production or post-production funding and must be intended for public television broadcast. Awards typically range between $15,000 and $50,000. Help us get the word out! Share this information with your filmmaker friends, networks, and contacts on Facebook and Twitter.
With support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CAAM provides production funding to independent producers for national public television. Documentaries are eligible for production or post-production funding and must be intended for public television broadcast. Awards typically range between $15,000 and $50,000.
For 38 years, the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) has supported independent filmmakers who are producing stories by or about Asian Americans intended for public broadcast and public media. To date, CAAM has awarded $5 million to over 300 projects that illuminate Asian and Asian American experiences.
IT'S MAY so it must be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. You can tell it's May with the attention mainstream media is placing on all things regarding this ethnic group. In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, PBS is presenting six compelling documentaries on public television this May through the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM.
Three of these films, Finding Kukan, Random Acts of Legacy and Who is Arthur Chu? will premiere on season 6 of America ReFramed, an award-winning documentary series on public television.
Resistance at Tule Lake and The Chinese Exclusion Act will screen on PBS and WORLD Channel. The CAAM-produced Pacific Gateway: Angel Island VR will air digitally on PBS’s American Experience. Check your local listings for exact airdates and times.
These enlightening and inspiring films spotlight the resilience of Asian/Americans and the role of Asian/Americans in shaping U.S. history.
Viewers are encouraged to share your thoughts using #MyAPALife. All of the films will stream online for a limited time following their respective premiere date.
Learn more about these films on the CAAMFest blog.
These films are supported or co-produced by CAAM, with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
A minority group is unjustly persecuted amidst racially-charged scapegoating by politicians. That’s the eerily relevant backdrop for RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE, Konrad Aderer’s examination of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, which couldn’t come at a more important moment.
FINDING KUKANdirected by Robin Lung
Broadcast date: May 8th on WORLD Channel Streaming online: May 9, 2018 - June 7, 2018
FINDING KUKAN documents filmmaker Robin Lung's 7-year journey to piece together the incredible story behind the pioneering mediamaker Li Ling-Ai, the co-producer for the 1941 documentary film, KUKAN. Despite having no Hollywood or government backing, KUKAN was screened at the White House for President Roosevelt before becoming the first of two documentary features ever given an Academy® Award in 1942.
RANDOM ACTS OF LEGACYdirected by Ali Kazimi
Broadcast: May 15, 2018 on WORLD Channel Streaming: May 16, 2018 - May 14, 2021
From one of the earliest known home movies, Ali Kazimi weaves a visually rich narrative of a wealthy Chinese American family from the Depression era. Combined with family accounts and other commentators, the film offers an intimate and radically different perspective on the Chinese American community in Chicago with a surprising feminist twist.
WHO IS ARTHUR CHU?directed by Yu Gu and Scott Drucker
Broadcast: May 22, 2018 on WORLD Channel Streaming: May 23, 2018 - June 21, 2018
WHO IS ARTHUR CHU? follows 11-time Jeopardy! winner Arthur Chu, who won almost $300,000 by using an unconventional strategy on the game show. The national attention led this insurance analyst to amass tens of thousands of fans and haters on Twitter. Arthur plans to put his 15 minutes of TV fame to good use, and launches a career as both a speaker and writer. By dissecting topics such as racism and sexism particularly in “nerd culture,” his posture shatters the “model” Asian American stereotype.
PACIFIC GATEWAY: ANGEL ISLAND VR directed by Felicia Lowe and co-produced by CAAM
Journey across the bay to the Angel Island Immigration Station in this fully immersive virtual reality experience, exploring the poignant stories carved into the walls of the “Ellis Island of the West.” In her first foray into this new digital medium, veteran filmmaker Felicia Lowe uses the historic Angel Island Immigration Station to shine light on a dark part of America’s past.
The Lim Family, American born and educated. The Chinese Exclusion Law made it difficult for the young generation to find employment, forcing many families to seek opportunities back in China. Lim Tong Family Archives.
THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT directed by Li-Shin Yu and Ric Burns and co-produced by CAAM
Broadcast – May 29, 2018 as a Special Presentation of the PBS series American Experience
THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT, a two-hour film for national broadcast on PBS, will explore in riveting detail this little known, yet deeply resonant and revealing episode in American history – one that sheds enormous light on key aspects of the history of American civil liberties, immigration, and culture – during one of the most formative periods of U.S. history.
