By Randall Yip, Executive Editor

The longtime executive director of the Center for Asian American Media or CAAM plans to retire at the end of the year, it announced today.

Stephen Gong has headed CAAM since 2006 and has been associated with the organization since its founding in 1980. Based in San Francisco, CAAM is best known for funding films and training filmmakers with the intent of distributing and showcasing works from AAPI filmmakers in film, television and digital media.

AsAmNews originally learned of his plans back in April, but agreed to hold off in reporting it until a new director had been hired to replace him. If a new ED has been hired, no announcement has been made. Gong intends to stay on until a new director is named, with some potential overlap to help with the transition.

When we talked to Gong in April of this year, he knew the upcoming CAAMFest the following month would be his last. CAAMFest is the Center’s annual film festival launched in 1982.

In a candid and exclusive interview with AsAmNews in April about his retirement, he spoke about his decision to step down.

“I don’t want to necessarily say I’ve passed my expiration date. Yeah. I think it’s time. I’m 72. It’s quite clear the 72-year-old should not be running a vibrant media arts organization.”

CAAM has a number of awards to its credit. Perhaps its most prestigious is a Peabody award for the five-hour documentary that aired on PBS, Asian Americans in 2020.

Just this past week, another CAAM supported documentary, Free Chol Soo Lee, won an Emmy for best historical documentary.

“We have a broad range of wonderful staff people. You know, this whole sector is made up. You’ve got to love this work.  And I think, you know, what I’ve tried to espouse to everyone is it’s a privilege to do this work. I’m so happy I didn’t have to have a real job in a way.”

CAAMFest has struggled to maintain its audience in the past few years. The number of films shown has declined and has the number of festival goers in recent years. That’s a challenge Gong’s successor will have to overcome.

It’s all part of an evolution in Asian American and Pacific Islander filmmaking that Gong has witnessed from his front row seat.

“When we first started, particularly the independent documentary filmmakers, and so many of them had come out the civil rights movement or the antiwar movement, right? So, a lot were college educated and progressive in their thinking.  There was also a portion, though, that really wanted to break into more mainstream media,” he said in an exclusive interview with AsAmNews.

Since then, the makeup of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has changed significantly, starting with the reform of immigration policy and the influx of boat people post-Vietnam.

That, in turn, has led to a change in the themes seen in many of the films showcased at CAAMfest. He says more recent immigrants still feel a strong tie to their country of origin and the cultural references often refer back to that country. On the other hand, those who have grown up in America, their cultural references are all to America.

It’s a pattern that continues to repeat itself.

“Every seven or 10 years, you get this different infusion of a new definition of young people finding their way or now being the next generation,” he said.

He says the change in demographics leads to questions about the type of multicultural society America wants to build. He sees a backlash to this growing diversity but is confident that controversy will sort itself out for the better.

 “It’s challenging. It’s disturbing in many ways. But I have ultimate faith,” he said confidently. “The truth is part of every film.”

He’s seen themes of intergenerational trauma, feelings of isolation, conflict and trauma come up again and again.

“If you come here and you’re in a refugee community, that’s a different experience. And you have a harder time because you don’t have these safety nets.  But historically, like the Chinese American community, because of the oppression we faced from the Exclusion Act, we developed strategies to respond and protect people. Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Indians that come here and the immigration policies favored graduate students,” Gong said.

Gong has seen Asian American filmmakers gaining both box office and critical acclaim and with that has come the national spotlight with such films as The Big Sick and Crazy Rich Asians along with the television or streaming series such as Fresh Off the Boat, Never Have I Ever and Young Rock.

“We’ve definitely crossed over a critical mass in a way. You know, for films like Minari and then, Everything Everywhere All at Once, it’s like,  to me, it’s the other bookend to when I first saw Chan is Missing. It’s brilliant filmmaking.”

Gong doesn’t feel everything should be judged by box office success. He still sees a need a plenty of room for thought provoking and provocative documentaries.

“The ideas are out there; the talent is out there. We don’t need to focus on one single arena alone.

So in the future, it’s going to continue expanding outward. I think not focused on one thing about success in Hollywood or whatnot. I’ve always believed it’s every type of expression.”

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Please support our fundraisers.  Purchase your tickets to a Night of Hilarity- a fun conversation with comedienne Jiaoying Summers and ABC7/KABC anchor David Ono to be held October 9 in Los Angeles.

 Then join us for a stimulating conference about issues that divide the Asian American communities. Our fundraiser Common Ground and the dinner after will be held October 26 at UC Berkeley.

AsAmNews is partially supported by the Stop the Hate grant administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.

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