We’re excited to announce the lineup for CAAMFest 2024, taking place May 9-19, 2024 in San Francisco and Oakland. This year’s festival will include over 35 programs that will spotlight film, food, music, and ideas.
“Our CAAMFest programs this year take a deeper look into our vast and infinite Asian American stories, unearthing truths that are complicated, sometimes strange, and at times revelatory,” says Festival and Exhibitions Director Thúy Trần. “As we are entering an election year in a socio-politically shapeshifting world that can feel uncertain, we look to artists and storytellers to ground us and remind us of the responsibility of our shared humanity. With this year’s CAAMFest, we are proud to lift the voices of these brave and tender storytellers.”
The Opening Night film screening will take place at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre—followed by the Gala at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. CAAMFest is also unveiling an expanded Industry Hub at Four One Nine Gallery in San Francisco, hosting three days of programs for filmmakers, creatives, and community leaders.
“The Industry Hub at CAAMFest reflects our roots in nurturing Asian American storytellers, including our 2024 Fellows and filmmakers whose projects we support on the path to public media and beyond,” says CAAM Executive Director Stephen Gong. “By bringing together events for filmmakers in this space, we hope CAAMFest will become even more of a place for Asian American creatives to get energized.”
Screenings will take place at SFMOMA, the Roxie and the Great Star Theater. Our Centerpiece Documentary, Centerpiece Narrative and SF Closing Night presentations will take place at SFMOMA. The festival will wrap up at New Parkway Theater in Oakland, for a day of screenings and a collaboration with the People’s Kitchen Collective. This year’s food and music programs will be held at various restaurants and venues, including Damansara restaurant and the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Keep reading for highlights of our 2024 festival program. Please note that screening showtimes and dates may be subject to change.
GALA AND SHOWCASES
OPENING NIGHT FILM: Admissions Granted
Directed by Hao Wu (2022 CAAM Mentor) & Miao Wang
Thursday, May 9, 6:30 p.m. | Palace of Fine Arts
In the run-up to the landmark Supreme Court case pitting Asian American plaintiffs against Harvard University, controversial legal strategist Edward Blum took direct aim at dismantling affirmative action, energizing activists on both sides. Admissions Granted tracks the case’s emotional, high-stakes journey to the Supreme Court through interviews, news archive, and verité footage combined with dynamic animated sequences. It takes an honest and thoughtful look at the complexity of the affirmative action debate, and reveals the divisions within the Asian American community and our nation’s increasing polarization on matters of race, equity, and inclusion. The film features Calvin Yang, one of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case and current UC Berkeley student; Michael Wang, who previously filed a discrimination complaint to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights; and Sally Chen, Harvard graduate and member of the San Francisco-based organization Chinese for Affirmative Action.
Expected Guests: Directors Hao Wu and Miao Wang
OPENING NIGHT GALA
Thursday, May 9, 9:30 PM | Asian Art Museum
Join us at the Asian Art Museum for an evening of celebration with delicious bites from some of the most exciting Asian American restaurants and music to dance away to. Be among the first to experience Phoenix Kingdoms with its extraordinary artworks from a bronze age society vanquished by imperial power and forgotten by history. Enjoy the Museum’s newly opened rooftop pavilion and art experience on the East West Bank Art Terrace.
CENTERPIECE DOCUMENTARY: Q
Directed by Jude Chehab (2020 CAAM Fellow)
Saturday, May 11, 2:20 PM | SFMOMA
Where do we draw the line between love and devotion? An intimate and haunting portrayal of a quest for love and acceptance at any cost, Q depicts the pervasive influence of a secretive matriarchal religious order in Lebanon on three generations of women in the Chehab family. Filmmaker Jude Chehab potently documents the unspoken ties and consequences of loyalty that have bonded her mother, grandmother, and herself to the mysterious organization. A masterful portrait of the toll that decades of unrequited love, lost hope, abuse, and despair takes on a person, Q is a multigenerational tale of the eternal search for meaning. A love story of a different kind, this documentary delicately portrays the complexities of unseen power that intermesh the lives of those who love a woman whose heart is in the hands of someone else. This film was made with support from CAAM’s Documentaries for Social Change Fund.
Expected Guest: Director Jude Chehab
CENTERPIECE NARRATIVE: Girls Will Be Girls
Directed by Shuchi Talati
Saturday, May 18, 2:35 PM | SFMOMA
In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance. But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself.
Expected Guest: Director Shuchi Talati
CLOSING NIGHT FILM: And So It Begins
Directed by Ramona S. Diaz (2020 CAAM Mentor)
Saturday, May 18, 6:30 PM | SFMOMA
Amidst the traditional pomp and circumstance of Filipino elections, a quirky people’s movement rises to defend the nation against deepening threats to truth and democracy. In a collective act of joy as a form of resistance, hope flickers against the backdrop of increasing autocracy. In a decades-long nonfiction saga of the Philippines, director Ramona Diaz presents the latest chapter on her homeland as the despotic reign of President Rodrigo Duterte is coming to an end. In the months leading up to the country’s 2022 presidential election, And So It Begins proffers unbridled access to all the key players including former Vice President of the Philippines and current presidential candidate Leni Robredo and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. With her keen observational eye and deep knowledge of the socio-political history and landscape, Diaz continues to find her own forms of storytelling as political disruption. This film was made with support from CAAM.
Expected Guests: Director Ramona Diaz, Associate Producer Allana De Guzman, and Editor Aaron Soffin
These are just a few of the over 35 events taking place between May 9-19. Visit the CAAMFest website for the full schedule.
Ticket Information
General admission tickets for screenings and panels range from complementary to $15. Special presentations and events range from $20 – $135. Tickets for students, seniors, and people with disabilities are at reduced prices for most events. For more information, please visit the box ticketing information page at: CAAMFest.com
Thanks to Our Supporters
CAAMFest 2024 is made possible with support from Principal Sponsor Nissan and Grand Sponsors Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, AARP, Bloomberg, and Asian Art Museum. Additional support is provided by Comcast NBCUniversal, Motion Picture Association, WBD Access, Pacific Islanders in Communications, Rakuten Viki, Dave A. Liu and Lauren Wu, Kaiser Permanente, Film SF | San Francisco Film Commission, San Francisco Symphony, Minami Tamaki LLP, Southwest Airlines, Firelight Media, and American Documentary + WORLD. Special thanks to the following institutional funders and government agencies: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Asian American Foundation, Bank of America, Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, Asian Pacific Fund, Robert Joseph Louie Memorial Fund, Jessie Cheng Charitable Foundation, APA Heritage Foundation, and Stupski Foundation. Thank you also to the following media supporters: BART, KQED, SF/Arts.org, KTSF Channel 26, NBC Bay Area, SF Station, Nichi Bei News, and SFGovTV.
(Supporters as of April 10, 2024)
Visit CAAMFest.com for the full 2024 lineup and to buy tickets!
