It’s May, which means it’s Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month! There are many films premiering this month along with other great content online, free and paid. We’ve partnered with fellow organizations and compiled a partial list of programming online and locally to check out this month.
Online Content throughout the month of May
- Asian Pacific Virtual Showcase
Co-presented by Visual Communications and various partner organizations, the Asian Pacific Virtual Showcase is a curated mix of FREE online panel discussions and select film presentations that aims to highlight Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander artists of different communities and neighborhoods in the United States, Canada, and Oceania. - Kinema AAPI Storytellers Festival
Kinema will feature films every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the month of May as one-time special viewing events with each film followed by a live conversation with the filmmakers and hosts. All proceeds will go towards AA & NH/PI Community Fund which is focused on defeating anti-Asian racism and harmful legacy biases in the media industry. - PBS / World Channel Documentaries
WORLD Channel will amplify a multitude of voices in the AA & NH/PI community by sharing stories of defiance, solidarity and humanity. Check out the broadcast premiere of many films from SAAFF 2021, including Far East Deep South, Curtain Up, and Tokyo Hula. Other documentaries also available on PBS include Down a Dark Stairwell, A Thousand Cuts, Island Soldier and more. - Films Streaming on Tubi
Choose from Academy Award-nominated movies, films from Asian American directors and titles that prominently feature AA & NH/PI stores. The options are endless. - Pushing Boundaries: Celebrating Asian and Pasifika Experiences Through Music
Join KEXP to celebrate Asian and Pasifika voices during Pushing Boundaries! this month. Pushing Boundaries transcends borders and conceptions to honor the musical contributions of the Asian and Pasifika diaspora. Through interviews and articles, Live on KEXP at Home sessions with must-hear artists, podcasts, guest DJ sets and local musicians, KEXP will celebrate stories of the diaspora, of migration and mixed-race identity. - Our Stories are Your Stories
A grassroots awareness campaign highlighting AA & NH/PI voices through video storytelling. Videos created from members of our AA & NH/PI community will share their stories throughout the month of May. Their Toolkit describes how you can tell your video story and have it preserved in the Wing Luke Museum’s oral history archives. - UPLIFT Asian Pacific American Artist Fund
A community-driven, multi-week giveaway series from April through June that will celebrate and raise emergency relief for creatives of Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander descent in the Puget Sound Area. Donors can win original artwork, cooking classes, dance lessons and much more from the local creative community. The Wing Luke Museum hopes to provide $500 in unrestricted emergency relief to as many AA & NH/PI creatives as possible and application for the fund has been extended to June 30, 2021.
Online Events
- Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration
Sunday, May 2nd
Watch the annual Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration, which celebrates Asian Pacific Islander (API) culture through history, music, dance, stories and food and community. - 140 lbs + Over 140 lbs: A Virtual Double Feature
Friday, May 7 – Sunday, May 9
Family is complicated. Whether your mother is alive or gone, close or distant, join us Mother’s Day weekend for Susan’s comedy-dramas about grief, family dynamics, spirituality, beauty, and Vietnamese culture. OACC is excited to once again present 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother along with its sequel, OVER 140 LBS, for a special Mother’s Day double-feature presentation! - Virtual Moving History – Donnie Chin Interview
Sunday, May 9, 5:00 PM
This interview with Donnie Chin was recorded by the Wing Luke Museum on August 8, 1996, at the International District Emergency Center, where Donnie dedicated the majority of his life to the safety of his community. He gave his all to support Chinatown-International District residents in dealing with everything from locked cars and lost pets, to shootings and fires. - Identity 2021: #OURIDENTITY
Saturday May 15, 5:00 PM
A livestream relief event featuring live performances, PSAs, discussions panels, and more involving some of the most prominent and groundbreaking members of the AA & NH/PI community. The event aims to raise funds for the Pacific Bridge Arts’ scholarship program as well as the AA & NH/PI Community Fund. - Revisiting Sentenced Home: 15 year later
Saturday, May 15, 7:00 PM
15 years ago, “Sentenced Home” was released, highlighting the injustices of the school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline and the impacts it has on families and communities. For the first time, all three Khmer refugees profiled in the film will speak on a panel to discuss what has changed since then in their lives, communities, and the anti-deportation movement. - Artists of Color Expo & Symposium
Saturday & Sunday May 15-16
A BIPOC-centered and led art conference with a vision to establish a space for artists of color to celebrate and center themselves. ACES features performances, presentations, workshops, artist talks, films, discussions, and opportunities to meet local arts organizations. All programming will be offered online, with an in-person Gallery available to visit at ARTS at King Street Station. - National AAPI Day Against Bulling and Hate
Tuesday, May 18th, 1:00-3:00 PM
Originally started in honor of Vincent Chin’s murder in a hate crime in 1982, Act to Change supports municipalities, elected officials and partner organizations for a day of commemorative activities which rally against bullying and hate. - Celebrate Asia
Tuesday, May 18, 7:00 PM
Joined by guest conductor Keitaro Harada, the Seattle Symphony performs a vibrant program featuring contemporary works by Dai Fujikura, Takashi Yoshimatsu and Akira Senju for the 13th annual Celebrate Asia at Benaroya Hall. - Amazon Studios Voices Asian & Pacific Islander Representation in Film & Media
Thursday, May 20th, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
This event brings together industry leaders to critically examine the history of Hollywood’s complicity in anti-Asian racism and discuss actions to change the narrative. - See Us Unite For Change
Friday, May 21, 5:00 PM
Through music and comedy performances, short film packages and speakers, a historical MTV special hosted by Ken Jeong aims to inspire and educate viewers about the AA & NH/PI community’s impact on the United States and how to support on-the-ground efforts building solidarity against hate. Featuring performances by Jhene Aiko, Saweetie, Black Eyed Peas, Chloe Flower, Mike Shinoda and Sting featuring Far East Movement.
The special will simulcast worldwide across MTV Entertainment platforms, including MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, Pop TV, VH1, CMT, TV Land, Logo, BET and Nickelodeon, and will stream on Facebook Watch. - Kollaboration Empower Conference
Saturday, May 22, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Through a series of panels and speakers, aspiring Asian American creatives gather to learn directly from some of the community’s most inspirational professionals. Kollaboration is excited to bring the same high-quality conversations of our acclaimed EMPOWER Creative Leadership Conference to the general public online. The event will be livestreamed to YouTube and Facebook and will be free to attend. - A&PI Heritage Month Legislative Town Hall
Wednesday, May 26, 5:00 PM
Come meet with some of your Asian and Asian American state legislators as they discuss the legislative session that just ended, covering some of the historic wins, and answering questions about the issues important to our communities.