CAPE Gala Raises Program Funds And Celebrates API Entertainment

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 03: Honoree attends CAPE’s 35th Anniversary Gala at Vibiana on October 03, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Unique Nicole/Getty Images for CAPE)

Getty Images for CAPE

The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) celebrated its 35th Anniversary on Saturday at the Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. Presented by Lexus and hosted by comedian and actor Asif Ali, the Gala honored esteemed Asian and Pacific Islanders who have shaped the entertainment industry over the years, as well as emerging talent.

Founded in 1991 by Asian American executives working in Hollywood, CAPE focused on empowering “Asian and Pacific Islander voices in entertainment by championing people, stories, and culture.” Now, the organization runs seven active programs – New Writers Fellowship, Showrunner Incubator, Leaders Fellowship, Animation Directors Accelerator, Emerging Executives Committee, Rising Filmmakers Finishing Fund, and the Beyond Japan Filmmaker.

Janet Yang, former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has supported CAPE since the organization began. She served on this year’s Gala Host Committee and is active as a mentor for the annual Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge. She recalls witnessing CAPE’s birth and its many phases of development. She credits CAPE’s CEO and Executive Director Michelle Sugihara as the “game changer” for the organization.

“They have so many incredible programs,” says Yang. “I love to recommend programs to emerging writers, producers, and showrunners. It’s done so much in a very practical way to help nurture talent. So their contribution cannot be overstated. It’s really just a combination of dreaming big but being very practical. It’s seeing a need. We really need more Asian writers in the room. We really need more showrunners. We really need more producers, and [CAPE] takes action, and it’s been very effective.”

Randall Park, a longtime supporter of CAPE and its programs, received the Renaissance Award for his work in Hollywood as an actor, writer, producer, and director for over two decades. Back in 2011, he received the CAPE New Writers Award. He recalls all the times working with the organization: “It’s been a kind of crazy journey – and it continues to be. It’s nice to have an organization like this that has been there for me from the beginning. It’s a very warm feeling that I have for CAPE and the community.”

Before Park was honored with the award, actress Sherry Cola, who appeared in Park’s 2023 directorial debut Shortcomings, introduced his legacy of work similarly to the way he did it while on VH1’s Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out in 2006 – spitting bars. She recapped his career – indie films, Fresh Off The Boat, Eminem’s “Phenomenal” music video, Netflix’s The Residence, Always Be My Maybe, being in both DC and Marvel films/television, and his one episode in The Office that is heavily part of pop culture: Asian Jim.

Park was honored to receive the award and gave a speech that reflected his humor and longevity. He stated, “The Renaissance Award, that’s cool. I say this with humility: I can’t think of anyone who deserves this award more than me. Every day, strangers come up to me and say, ‘Randall, you are a man of the Renaissance.’ I swear, every day. Manny [Jacinto], does that happen to you? This word, “Renaissance,” makes me think of the great Renaissance men in our World History. Men like Leonardo da Vinci, a master engineer and inventor, and the creator of the most famous painting in the world that has ever been known – the Mona Lisa. I think of men like Michelangelo, an accomplished poet and architect, the sculptor of the Statue of David, and the painter of the venerated ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But most of all, I think of me, Randall Park.”

He expressed his appreciation to his loving family, friends, and CAPE, “I get to live with the most joyful, the funniest people I know – my beautiful wife, Jae [Suh Park], who’s here tonight, and my incredible daughter, Ruby, [who] inspires me every day. I have great friends like Sherry, Manny Jacinto, and a bunch of you who are here tonight. All of this career stuff is great. But the best stuff happens among our family, friends, and community… I want to thank the kind people at CAPE for this honor. CAPE has been a huge supporter of me and my career since I first started in this business many years ago. So thank you for all that you do, and for all that you do for our community.”

Kalikolehua Hurley, head of Cultural Trust at Walt Disney Animation Studios, received the Changemaker Award for her cultural efforts in developing, producing, and promoting Walt Disney Animation feature films, series, and shorts. She began working on the 2016 animated film Moana, which led her to meet actress Auliʻi Cravalho, who presented Hurley with the award. Cravalho said, “Kalikolehua is the connective tissue between community and the big screen. She held my hand before I walked out to perform in front of Meryl Streep and everyone else, [at the] 2017 Academy Awards that I can’t remember. But I will never forget that her hand led me from audition road to stage. Kalikolehua is Moana as much as I am, unwavering in the face of new adventure, whilst never forgetting where she came from.”

Hurley greeted the audience in her native Hawaiian language, then thanked CAPE, her Walt Disney family, colleagues, and her family at home. She recalled CAPE being her first industry networking event: “It was the connections that I made there that opened the door for me to be able to do what I get to do today. Mahalo CAPE for championing me and everyone over the years. What an adventure we had! Mahalo to you for being the voice and spirit of our Pacific people, and because of you, the world knows who we are, where we came from, where we come from, and that we descend from greatness.”

Ben Wang, who starred in the 2023 Disney+ series American Born Chinese and 2025’s Karate Kid: Legends, received the ‘Rising Star Award’ for his continued work in 2025’s The Long Walk, in the theatre, and the upcoming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and Fala Chen’s Bloodline. Though he is grateful for the award, he feels a bit nervous about what this award means. He shares, “The Rising Star Award is a hope that you keep going. It’s an investment in a way. As a person in the industry and as an artist, it makes me feel I got to live up to this.”

On stage, after being presented the award by Bloodline producer Nina Yang, Wang jokingly dedicated his award to Randall Park. He then compared the award to his failed derby race, which he only made it up to a quarter of the way, which he said is where he is in his career – hoping he’ll go much further the next time. He stated, “I tell that story because, in a weird way, I do feel like a Rising Star Award is another recognition, getting about a quarter of the way. But this does feel much nicer. I hope to go much further.”

Street Fighter director and writer Kitao Sakurai received the Visionary Award for his work on Beef season 2, The Eric Andre Show, Dave, Bad Trip, and Twisted Metal. Street Fighter actress Callina Liang presented him with the award. Sakurai reflected on his life and career that brought him to this moment with his community. He didn’t really know where he belonged – born in Japan, raised in Ohio – until his family from Japan sent him VHS tapes of anime – Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and others. They gave him the “anchors” and support he needed to express himself as a director, actor, writer, cinematographer, and more.

“[Those things] allowed me to find myself and allowed me to find my way on a path that led me to the privilege of being here today,” Sakurai shared. “So when I stand here and look out, it strikes me to find so many more people sending out so many more anchors for the next stage in my own career, anchors for every other weird Asian kid trying to express themselves and trying to seek out a new path. As [meaningful as this award is], it’s perhaps [even] more meaningful to me to feel that I found a place within a community that I feel embraced by – a place where I belong.”

Jinny Howe, Head of Netflix Scripted Series, received the Decision Maker Award for her work curating “a slate of culture-defining television that has reached millions of people around the globe,” including The Diplomat, The Night Agent, and X.O. Kitty. Actress Ali Ahn presented the award to Howe. Howe, who grew up in San Gabriel Valley, remembers the trouble her parents faced as first-generation immigrants who didn’t speak English and how grateful she was for them. Yet growing up was difficult because she didn’t feel proud of her heritage; she was seen as different, and she “desperately wanted to belong, to be cool, and be like everyone else.” There wasn’t much representation for Asians in mainstream pop culture back then. Fast forward to today, she has two children who are so proud of being Asian.

“For that, being Asian is something to celebrate loudly and proudly because it means being a pop idol, superstar athlete, titan of the industry, or a superhero,” she said during her speech. “You take your pick. For me, this is the clearest and most immediate indication that the culture of representation has shifted forward in a momentous way, and that shit didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of people in this room… In this role, I get to be part of something that genuinely matters: serving as an evangelizer and amplifier of extraordinary, groundbreaking storytelling from the most visionary voices in the world, and it is truly my privilege to help make that happen.”

The women of HBO Max’s Emmy Award-winning series The Pitt won the Radiance Award, presented by actress Lilly Singh. Executive producer and writer Simran Baidwan, writer Valerie Chu, and the cast of The Pitt (Isa Briones, Kristin Villanueva, and Tal Anderson) were on hand to accept the award. Baidwan spoke on behalf of her team, honored for the recognition: “It’s a recognition of all the hard work that comes from behind the camera to inform the camera and a recognition that representation matters. Our stories matter. We matter. Gina Prince-Michael once said, ‘Cultural specificity doesn’t be alienating; it brings you in’. On The Pitt, we truly take that to heart by spending great time and care to tell authentic, meaningful, complex stories from the very perspectives of API women and non-binary folks working in the healthcare industry, all of whom are too often tokenized or cast aside from television.”

During the gala, two filmmaking grantees from the Julia E. Gouw Short Film Challenge spoke about the impact of CAPE’s program: Cami Kwan and Liz Sargent. Kwan released her 2026 stop-motion animated short film, Paper Daughter, inspired by her great-grandmother’s story of moving from China to the U.S. in 1926, at the height of the Chinese Exclusion Act (repealed in 1943). When Kwan applied to the short film challenge, it was only a script – she wasn’t sure if others would see her vision or believe in her ability. CAPE did.

“Paper Daughter was screened at the Annecy International Animation Festival and was qualified for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short,” Kwan said. “Like my great-grandparents, and like all of our ancestors, we had a faith in a future that didn’t yet exist, but that they believed we could build. They are a testament to the determination, generosity, and vision that make our future so powerfully rich; they truly and genuinely change my mind. I am honored to be a part of the CAPE community.”

Sargent’s 2023 narrative short film Take Me Home is loosely based on her relationship with her cognitively disabled sister. After it received nominations for Best Short Film at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and Best Narrative Short at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, and won several prizes at the American Cinematheque’s 2024 Proof Film Festival, the 2023 dead Center Film Festival, and at the 2023 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, it was announced to be adapted into a feature film – with the support of the national advocacy organization Caring Across Generations, River Road Entertainment, Cinereach, and Cyprian Films, New York. It also received the AT&T Untold Stories $1 million award. The film was released last month.

Sargent says emotionally, “It was just four years ago in 2022, and I was at a pretty uncertain point in my career – a finalist for everything, winning an encouraging pat on the back. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to break through this opaque industry. And then I saw a call for scripts for the Julia E. Gouw Short Film Challenge, the now-famous fellowship with CAPE and Janet Yang, and I remember thinking these women get it. I felt like they understood the futility of where I was in my career. They also saw how far I could go with the right support. There are so many great filmmakers out there. There are so many great Asian filmmakers out there, and they’re ready. CAPE opens the door, but they also champion creatives across the industry – from executives to writers. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them.”

The final award of the night was CAPE’s Champion Award, presented to actor Manny Jacinto by his Freakier Friday director, Nisha Ganatra. Jacinto worked hard on his craft, but also gives his time to help others be better in theirs. He has volunteered his time leading workshops for CAPE, helping up-and-coming actors navigate the tough industry.

He tells me, “I didn’t know I was gonna stay here [in LA] for the long run, but being around CAPE and the people that they bring together, it’s pretty incredible. There’s a lot that goes into a decision to take a role, and because we are representing people who look like [us] properly, I think CAPE carries that same sentiment. Being around people like that who want to push for more diverse stories and for people who look like us in different roles. It’s huge because it’s not just you anymore. The pressure is taken off a little bit. So having CAPE there supporting me since the beginning meant the world, and because of that, I had always continued to give back.”

During his winning speech, he followed the trend for the night, jokingly dedicating his award to Park: “When we think of ‘Champion, we think of Randall Park.”

Jacinto remembered being asked to his first CAPE gala 10 years ago, asking this girl to be his date to the event – who later turned out to be his wife, Dianne Doan. He recalls feeling nervous facing these things for the first time: seeing Ali Wong, hearing [Gold House CEO] Bing Chen’s commanding voice, and Daniel Dae Kim’s cheekbones.

“But one thing that’s remained consistent for this past decade is CAPE’s consistent support for our community,” Jacinto explained. “They continue to push diverse stories to connect all of us, provide resources to upcoming talent, especially to those who don’t necessarily feel like this industry is meant for them. So, receiving an award from these wonderful folks is a huge honor. So thank you, CAPE, for giving this to me from an organization that I truly admire. It means the world. So thank you so much. And also the girl that I went on the date with is now my wife. Probably the best thing that happened in this past decade.”

The Gala typically takes place every five years (except for the COVID-19 pandemic) and serves as an opportunity to fundraise for its ongoing programs. Ali and his Deli Boys costar Saagar Shaikh led the room to hype up their fundraising goal of $350,000 for the evening, which they successfully matched – and then some.

Sugihara was happy with the evening’s events, thrilled to be among the community. She tells us, “It was a wonderful night to highlight some of our community’s luminaries, while also sharing CAPE’s story of growth and evolution over the past 35 years. We are extremely grateful to all of our supporters who donated and helped us meet our fundraising goal for the evening! Given the strong headwinds in the current climate against inclusion programs and stories from and by marginalized communities, this support enables us to continue our work. It brings us closer to our overall 2026 goal of $500,000.”

She relayed that there will be an online silent auction in November for the holidays – prizes will include a Crazy Rich Asians set visit, a Norwegian Cruiseline 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise, a private chef’s dinner with Top Chef Duyen Ha, a Virgin Cruise, dinner at N/Naka, signed scripts, and more.

Sugihara said it best in her speech, “When CAPE started, there seemed to be a ceiling on how much we could ask for. Then, for a brief time in the past few years, it seemed that the ceiling had shattered, but it was short-lived. And unless we stay vigilant, that ceiling will descend upon us again. Funding for the arts has been slashed nationwide. Priorities have shifted away from inclusion initiatives. And after COVID, we all waited for recovery, and it never seems to come. Remember, ‘Survive until 25.’ Whenever they say that, they have faced industry contractions, mass layoffs, shrinking writers’ rooms, and it sometimes seems like the hits keep on coming. The truth is, it is a strange and concerning time, but nobody ever said a career in the arts would be stable. If I can think about what CAPE can strive to be, I hope we can provide some measure of stability and strength in this rapidly changing industry… At CAPE, our motto is to lift as we climb. But even more importantly, we always remind even the most successful among us to extend that ladder back down for the generation climbing behind them.”