CAPE’s 35th Anniversary Gala Raises $350K As Randall Park, Manny Jacinto, The Women Of ‘The Pitt’ & More Celebrate — SkimNews
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- CAPE held its 35th Anniversary Gala at Downtown Los Angeles' Vibiana, raising $351,118 to fund the organization's AAPI representation work and marking its first anniversary celebration in a decade after Covid-19 disrupted the every-five-year schedule.
- CAPE Executive Director Michelle K. Sugihara warned that the industry ceiling that briefly shattered "was short-lived," citing arts funding cuts, mass layoffs, and shrinking writers' rooms, while noting CAPE has grown from one fellowship to nine under her leadership since 2015.
- Netflix, STARZ, and Paramount each contributed donations exceeding $20,000 that pushed the gala past its $350,000 goal, and one donor contributed $35 from the "newly merged Paramount-Warner Bros. company, Skydance" as a corporate humor nod.
- Randall Park accepted the Renaissance Award, joking about playing "Asian Jim" in The Office and Kim Jong Un before pivoting to thank the AAPI community that has supported his two-decade-plus career as actor, writer, and director.
- The women of The Pitt received the Radiance Award, with executive producer Simran Baidwan quoting Gina Prince-Bythewood that "cultural specificity doesn't yell your name, it brings you in" and crediting showrunner R. Scott Gemmill, John Wells, and Noah Wyle as "fearless allies."
- Manny Jacinto closed the ceremony by recalling his first CAPE gala 10 years ago, crediting the organization with helping him meet his now-wife Dianne Doan when the invite gave him "an excuse to ask a girl out on a date."
- Other honorees included Walt Disney Studios' Kalikolehua Hurley (Changemaker Award), Ben Wang (Rising Star), Kitao Sakurai (Visionary), Netflix executive Jinny Howe (Decision Maker), and filmmaker Cami Kwan for CAPE's Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge.
Why it matters: CAPE's $351,118 haul — anchored by $20,000-plus gifts from Netflix, STARZ, and Paramount — shows major streamers and studios still see strategic value in funding AAPI pipeline programs even as Sugihara publicly warned that industry contraction could reverse recent representation gains and bring back the old ceiling.
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