Center for Asian American Media

Overview

The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is one of five minority public broadcasting consortia designated by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to provide programming to PBS. Since 1980, CAAM has funded, produced, distributed, and exhibited film, television, and digital media by and about Asian Americans. CAAM operates two distinct funding tracks for independent filmmakers: the CAAM Documentary Fund and the Building Bridges Documentary Fund. The organization also runs the CAAM Fellowship mentorship program and presents CAAMFest, an annual festival in San Francisco.

For over 45 years, CAAM has supported filmmakers through a combination of funding, mentorship, community building, and distribution. Grant recipients benefit from CAAM's public television distribution relationships, which can place finished films in front of national broadcast audiences.

CAAM Documentary Fund

The CAAM Documentary Fund provides production and post-production funding to independent documentary films that explore the Asian American experience and are intended for broadcast on public television. Awards typically range from $10,000 to $50,000 per project, depending on the project's stage and production scope.

The fund is supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). It operates on an annual open call cycle, with applications submitted through CAAM's Submittable page. The most recent open call ran from September 20 through October 20, 2024. Filmmakers should check the CAAM website for the next open call dates.

CAAM Documentary Fund Eligibility

• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older
• Applicants must be citizens or legal residents of the United States or its territories
• Only one proposal per applicant per round
• Projects must be delivered at PBS standard lengths: 26:46, 56:46, 1:26:46, or 1:56:46
• Projects must be intended for public television broadcast (not solely theatrical release)
• Applicants must have previous film or television experience. First-time media makers must provide a video sample demonstrating storytelling ability
• Projects in production must include a 10 to 15 minute sample. Projects in post-production must submit a full-length rough or fine cut
• CAAM may require a fiscal sponsor (a 501(c)(3) IRS tax-exempt entity) to accept funds on the applicant's behalf
• Applicants must hold artistic, budgetary, and editorial control, and must own the copyright of the proposed project

Projects Not Eligible for the CAAM Documentary Fund

• Projects not about the Asian American experience
• Thesis projects or student films editorially or fiscally controlled by a school
• Projects intended solely for theatrical release or commercial in nature
• Projects in the script development stage
• Projects for which domestic television broadcast rights are not available
• Projects not at standard PBS broadcast length
• Projects not intended for a public television audience

Building Bridges Documentary Fund

The Building Bridges Documentary Fund is a separate, newer initiative that funds independent documentary projects about the Muslim experience in the United States. It is supported by the Building Bridges Program of the Doris Duke Foundation, in partnership with the Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Hollywood Bureau, and Sundance Institute.

Building Bridges Funding Tiers

Building Bridges caps total funding for a single project at $100,000. If a project has previously received funding, the applicant is only eligible for the difference up to that cap.

Building Bridges Track Record

In its inaugural year (2024 to 2025), CAAM awarded $1 million to 15 filmmakers through Building Bridges. In its second year (2025 to 2026), the fund awarded over $1 million to 17 filmmakers. This is a multi-year funding initiative with substantial financial capacity.

Building Bridges Eligibility

• Open to filmmakers at all levels: emerging, mid-career, and veteran
• No requirement to be Muslim to apply
• Co-directors may apply (must submit a dual statement explaining shared directorial responsibility)
• No fiscal sponsorship required to apply
• Previously funded projects can apply again, but only for the difference up to the $100,000 cap
• Projects must center Muslim protagonists or perspectives, or illuminate the US Muslim community experience
• International components are acceptable if they illuminate the US Muslim story
• Feature-length films (60+ minutes), shorts (40 minutes and under), and episodic series are eligible

Building Bridges 2026 Application Window

• March 16, 2026: Application opens
• April 26, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST: Application closes
• Late Summer 2026: Finalists notified to submit an update
• Review process takes approximately six months

Building Bridges Submission Requirements

• R&D stage: Submit a deck with still images at minimum (no AI-generated reels)
• Production stage: Submit a minimum 15-minute sample of the project
• Post-production stage: Submit a full-length rough or fine cut
• Full line item budget in USD
• Total secured and pending funds
• Distribution goals and intended audience
• Timeline
• Grant impact statement explaining how funds will be used

CAAM uses the International Documentary Association's (IDA) documentary CORE application and has incorporated most of the standardized application requirements, which aligns with other major documentary funders.

CAAM Fellowship

In addition to funding, CAAM operates a Fellowship program that pairs emerging Asian American documentary makers with veteran filmmakers for mentorship. This is a career development program, not a grant, but it provides professional connections and creative guidance that can strengthen future grant applications. Emerging makers can apply through the CAAM website.

CAAM's Broader Role

CAAM distributes Asian American films through public television, presents CAAMFest (a documentary festival in San Francisco), and maintains a distribution library of Asian American film and media. Grant recipients benefit from CAAM's distribution relationships and the possibility of broadcast through its public television partnerships. CAAMFest is one of the largest showcases for Asian American and Asian diaspora cinema in the United States.

Who Should Apply

Independent documentary filmmakers working on films about the Asian American experience with a clear path to public television broadcast should target the CAAM Documentary Fund. Filmmakers working on documentaries about the US Muslim experience should target the Building Bridges Documentary Fund, which offers substantially larger grants (up to $100,000) and is currently in an active multi-year funding cycle. Both funds require US citizenship or legal residency. The Building Bridges Fund is particularly notable for its accessibility: no fiscal sponsorship required to apply, open to all career levels, and accepting of both features and shorts.

See Also

For understanding public television as a distribution channel, see Distribution Deals: What Filmmakers Need to Know. For modeling revenue across broadcast and streaming windows, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For building a documentary financing strategy that layers multiple grants, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack.