The Educational Distribution service of the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) has distributed high quality works by and about Asians and Asian Pacific Americans, since 1986, to educational institutions, libraries, community organizations, government agencies, film and art centers, and television. Our collection has grown from just 30 films to over 250 and includes the works of such prominent filmmakers as Steven Okazaki, Gurinder Chadha, Felicia Lowe, Arthur Dong, Spencer Nakasako, Dai Sil Kim Gibson, Deann Borshay Liem, Carma Hinton, Richard Gordon, and Ramona Diaz. We work closely with our other CAAM program areas – Film Festival, Media Fund, and Public Broadcasting – to maximize viewership and exhibition opportunities.
The majority of our clients are colleges and universities and K-12 schools across the country. Our buyers are professors, teachers, librarians, and student groups in Asian and Asian American studies, ethnic studies, sociology, history, women’s studies, psychology, art and media studies, and international studies. Others include government agencies, civil rights and social service organizations, museums and public libraries. Among our active clients are the University of Maryland, University of Illinois, Rutgers University, Ithaca College, University of San Diego, California State University system, University of California system, Ohio State University, University of Massachusetts and Princeton University. Films festivals request rentals for special programming as do museums and media centers. Public and private primary and secondary schools have requested programs for both classroom and staff development use. Since CAAM is an affiliate of the national Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), we are able to offer appropriate films to this service as well as to special programs, such as POV (Point of View) and Independent Lens. Cable and satellite broadcasting services, such as AZN TV and Free Speech TV, have also licensed programs. In addition, many of our film titles are available for use by educational institutions outside of the U.S. Please contact us for the availability of specific titles.
CAAM’s staff members attend various academic and media related conferences throughout the year. We may present sessions, screen films, staff booths or information tables, or host events. Some of the conferences and festivals include those of the Association for Asian American Studies, Association for Asian Studies, National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, Public Broadcasting Service, and the Sundance Film Festival. In addition, CAAM presents the annual 10-day San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) that takes place in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose, California.