The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is now accepting film and media submissions for the 43rd rendition of CAAMFest! The festival is currently scheduled for May 7 - 11, 2025. Please check back as dates may change.
CAAMFest, presented by the Center for Asian American Media, is one of the nation’s leading showcases for Asian and Asian American talent in film, music, food, and ideas. Since 1982, the annual festival has been an important launching point for Asian American independent filmmakers.
CAAMFest 2025 will be an in-person festival experience in the San Francisco Bay Area that includes a curation of film screenings, dynamic events and industry panels, that dive deep into illuminating the nuances of our vast and diverse diaspora.
“Our stories have the power to catalyze the public imagination, build socio-cultural movements, and influence the way that we want to shape and define our future and the world we want to live in,” says Thúy Trần, Festival & Exhibitions Director.
Filmmakers can submit online using FilmFreeway. For questions or more information about the Call for Entries, please contact the Festival team at festival@caamedia.org.
ABOUT CAAM
For over 40 years, CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) has been dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. As a nonprofit organization, CAAM funds, produces, distributes, and exhibits works in film, television, and digital media. For more information about CAAM, please visit www.CAAMedia.org.
List of CAAMFest 2025 awards
JURIED AWARDS INCLUDE:
NARRATIVE FEATURE
- This award highlights the diversity and ingenuity of modern cinema and recognizes excellence in narrative filmmaking.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- This award highlights a documentary feature that fearlessly captures the challenging reality and surprising beauty inherent to the human experience.
LONI DING AWARD FOR SOCIAL ISSUE DOCUMENTARY (SHORTS ONLY)
- This award was established in the memory of Loni Ding, a founder of CAAM whose spirit and vision for creating media about the Asian American experience remains a legacy. The award recognizes a first-time filmmaker whose work reflects this spirit and illuminates the experiences of underrepresented communities. The awardee will receive a $1000 prize.
[TBC] STUDENT FILM AWARD (Undergraduate and Graduate, shorts only)
- One or more $1000 prizes will be awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited university within the United States during the time of production; additionally, students must be a US citizen or hold permanent residency status in the US.
Other:
AUDIENCE AWARD (Narrative and Documentary Feature)
- This award lets you, our audience, honor your festival favorite. Voting takes place during the festival and winners are announced post-fest.