Supporting Talent in the Heartland
The 2026 CAAM Fellowship builds upon our commitment to regional work in developing the filmmaker talent pipeline
CAAM Fellowship: Midwest Edition
The CAAM Fellowship Program aims to support documentary filmmakers developing Asian American stories by pairing selected Fellows with accomplished professionals as Mentors for six months to nurture both a project and the Fellow’s career in documentary filmmaking. The Mentors for 2026 are Anuradha Rana, Musa Syeed and Shuling Yong.
These Mentors will be working one on one with their Fellows on their documentary projects and engage in virtual and in-person opportunities to nurture the full cohort.
This year’s CAAM Fellowship is an opportunity to support filmmakers in the Midwest, a region that has been home to Asian Americans since before the U.S. was founded, especially for key sub-communities, such as the Hmong American community in Minneapolis, Michigan’s Muslim American communities, along with many others. This Fellowship continues CAAM’s commitment to uplifting nuanced, community-centered storytelling across the country.
The Fellowship includes one-on-one mentor meetings, monthly cohort gatherings, and participation in programs like the CAAMFest Filmmaker Summit and Ready, Set, Pitch! — building a lasting community of documentary makers.
The 2026 CAAM Fellowship Program is made possible with support from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) and other generous funders.
