CAPE Marks 35 Years of Empowering API Talent With October Gala Honoring Randall Park and Manny Jacinto

CAPE Celebrates 35 Years with Gala, to honor Randall Park, Manny Jacinto, and more

Courtesy of CAPE

The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) will commemorate 35 years of championing Asian and Pacific Islander professionals in the media industry with its 35th Anniversary Gala, set to take place this October in downtown Los Angeles.

Sponsored by Lexus, the milestone event will recognize API luminaries with deep ties to CAPE’s legacy. Comedian and actor Asif Ali, known for Hulu’s Deli Boys, Apple TV+’s Shrinking, and Netflix’s Verified Stand Up, will host the evening. Honorees include actors Randall Park and Manny Jacinto, with additional names to be announced. New York–based indie alt-rock group Chanpan will deliver a special musical performance.

“In our professional fellowship and accelerator programs, we ask our cohort: how can you expect others to hire you as a storyteller if you cannot tell your own personal story to them?” said Michelle K. Sugihara, CAPE’s Executive Director and CEO. “For this 35th Anniversary, it’s our time to share our CAPE history, and many of those we are featuring and honoring—Randall Park, Manny Jacinto, Asif Ali and Grace Dumdaw, the lead singer of Chanpan—all have their part in our history outside their own incredible feats in their careers.”

Founded in 1991 by Asian American executives Wenda Fong, Fritz Friedman, and Chris Lee, CAPE began as a community gathering space for API entertainment professionals and later became a formal nonprofit. Its initiatives have grown from early screenwriting competitions such as the CAPE New Writers Award into a robust portfolio of fellowships, accelerators, and grants serving writers, filmmakers, and executives across film and television. The CAPE New Writers Fellowship will mark its 15th year in 2027. Current programs include the New Writers Fellowship, Showrunner Incubator, Leaders Fellowship, Animation Directors Accelerator, Emerging Executives Committee, Rising Filmmakers Finishing Fund, and the Beyond Japan Filmmaker initiative.

Notable CAPE alumni include Park, who received the 2011 CAPE New Writers Award, as well as filmmakers Alice Wu (Saving Face, The Half of It), Beth de Araújo (Josephine), Liz Sargent (Take Me Home), and others.

While CAPE traditionally holds its anniversary gala every five years, the organization’s 30th celebration was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A decade after its last gala, the nonprofit returns with expanded programming and partnerships alongside Lexus, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Suntory Global Spirits.

“I started my journey as CAPE’s Executive Director when we last celebrated a milestone—our 25th anniversary,” Sugihara added. “I’m excited to celebrate both CAPE’s 35 years and over a decade of uplifting our community.”

For more information about the CAPE 35th Anniversary Gala, visit capeusa.org/gala.

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