MISSION STATEMENT
The Center for Asian American Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. We do this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media. For over 40 years, CAAM has exposed audiences to new voices and communities, advancing our collective understanding of the American experience through programs specifically designed to engage the Asian American community and the public at large.
IMPACT
For over four decades, CAAM has created opportunities for Americans and people around the globe to understand the diverse stories and experiences of Asian Americans through:
▪ Careers. CAAM empowers filmmakers to achieve their full potential by providing training, funding, distribution, and access to professional networks.
▪ Community. Connecting filmmakers and their stories to people and communities in schools, community centers, theaters and neighborhoods, bridging conversations about inclusiveness and social equity.
▪ Perspective. CAAM-supported work changes the way audiences see the world, changing hearts and minds, inspiring empathy and meaningful social action.
We invite documentary filmmakers from the Midwest region in the U.S. who are directing or producing their current work or are looking to transition into directing or producing to apply to our 2026 CAAM Fellowship Program: Midwest Edition. The CAAM Fellowship Program aims to support documentary filmmakers developing Asian American stories by pairing selected Fellows with accomplished professionals as Mentors for six months to nurture both a project and the Fellow’s career in documentary filmmaking. The Mentors for 2026 are Anuradha Rana, Musa Syeed and Shuling Yong (see bios in the application form). The program requires a commitment to a six-month-long process which includes meetings between Fellows and Mentors, participation at gatherings such as the CAAMFest Filmmaker Summit and monthly cohort meetings. This Program’s vision is to create a community of makers that serves to nurture one another’s careers and creativity in the field of documentary film highlighting Asian American experiences.
This year’s CAAM Fellowship is an opportunity to support filmmakers in the Midwest, a region that has been home to Asian Americans since before the U.S. was founded, especially for key sub-communities, such as the Hmong American community in Minneapolis, Michigan’s Muslim American communities, along with many others. CAAM’s multi-year Midwest focus highlights the diversity and complexity of stories from practitioners living and working in this region.
The 2026 CAAM Fellowship Program is made possible with support from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) and other generous funders. The deadline for this call is Monday, March 30, 2026.
Request For Proposals
The Building Bridges Documentary Fund is for independent documentary films about the Muslim experience in the United States. The Fund’s goal is to support non-fiction U.S. Muslim short and feature documentaries and series that contribute to a fuller spectrum of unseen narratives about the vast U.S.-Muslim population.
Consider the diversity of the U.S Muslim population. According to the Pew Research Center in 2023-2024 Muslims in the United States identified as:
30% White and/or Asian
20% Black
11% Hispanic
8% Other or Multiracial
21% of Muslims are born in the U.S. or have at least one parent born in the U.S.
33% of U.S. Muslims live in the South, followed by Northeast (29%), Midwest (20%), West (18%).
The Building Bridges Documentary Fund is supported by the Building Bridges Program of the Doris Duke Foundation. CAAM is honored to be a part of this multi-year journey with our colleagues in the Program: the Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Hollywood Bureau, and the Sundance Institute.
CAAM is also collaborating with the independent filmmaking community to provide support for workshops on various aspects of sustainable filmmaking practices.
We encourage filmmakers at all levels–emerging, mid-career or veteran–to apply with projects that are feature-length, shorts, or episodic series. Awards will range between $10,000 to $100,000.
The Building Bridges Documentary Fund will support the following project phases with the stated range of possible funding :
- Research & Development ($10K to $25K)
- Production ($50K to $100K)
- Post-production ($50K to $100K)
Request for proposals are open Friday, March 16, 2026 through Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 11:59 PM PDT. Please scroll through our Submittable page to complete the application.
For further assistance regarding the application process including any accessibility issues, reach out to buildingbridges[at]caamedia[dot]org (buildingbridges@caamedia.org) with any questions about your project’s eligibility.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Project must be about the U.S. Muslim experience. Meaning: The project is anchored by illuminating a U.S. Muslim story, community protagonist(s) etc. Note: There is no percentage of footage requirement that must be filmed in the U.S., but if your project is filmed predominantly overseas you must explain in your story summary why and how the international elements widen the aperture of the U.S.-Muslim point-of-view.
- Applicants must hold artistic, budgetary and editorial control and must own the copyright of the proposed project.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age, be citizens or legal residents of the United States or its territories.
- All projects in the post-production phase or further must have a full-length rough or fine cut to be considered. All projects must include a maximum 15-minute sample of the project that is being submitted, with the exception of post-production projects that require a rough cut.
- If this is your first media project, you must provide a video sample that demonstrates your ability to tell a story well through a visual medium.
- In some cases, CAAM may require a Fiscal Sponsor, which is a non-profit 501(c)(3) IRS tax-exempt entity. Your sponsor would agree to accept funds from CAAM on your behalf and is responsible for redistributing funds to the project accordingly.
- Only one proposal per applicant will be accepted.
Projects NOT eligible (See our Q&A page for further information):
- Projects that do not center the U.S. Muslim experience, story, community and/or protagonist(s).
- Your project already has distribution and/or has been accepted into a festival.
- Thesis projects or student films which are co- or solely-owned or copy-written, or otherwise editorially or fiscally controlled by the school.
- Projects or production entities which are foreign-based, owned or controlled.
- Industrial or promotional projects.
Our funding process will use the following guidelines in awarding funds:
- Does this project focus on the experience of U.S. Muslims? Is the story idea compelling, engaging, original and well-conceived?
- Is the visual/ stylistic treatment effective and distinctive?
- Can the project be completed within a realistic timeline based on the applicant’s production and fundraising plans, personnel and budget?
- Will the project appeal not only to U.S. Muslim viewers, but also to a broader audience?
- Does the sample demonstrate the skills and/ or potential of the applicant to complete the proposed project?
- What is the team’s connection to the film project and protagonists?
- Why is the team best suited to tell this story and produce this project?