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Kicking off AAPI Heritage Month in style, Quentin Lee’s Margin Films celebrates its 30th anniversary with Cinemasianamerica—a vibrant new book and a seven-day screening series lighting up the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Los Angeles. The series is also streaming on AAM.tv, bringing the celebration to audiences everywhere. On Friday, May 1, 2026, Cinemasianamerica opened with a 30th anniversary screening of Shopping for Fangs, the groundbreaking debut feature from Lee and Justin Lin. The night drew a feast of collaborators, who turned out in full force for both the screening and a lively after-party in West Los Angeles.

Queer Canadian filmmaker Desiree Lim banded with three queer youths to launch a new podcast, redefining what queer thriving looks like. Queer Becomings: Beyond Survival spotlights bold, brilliant voices who have moved beyond simply surviving and into lives shaped by the courageous act of self-discovery.

When I got into UCLA Film School in 1993, I set out to make a feature film before turning 25. Every short I created at UCLA became part of that larger vision—I was building toward something bigger. The result was Flow, which world-premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 1995. It was the first major festival I ever attended—and where I met my doppelgänger, Adi Tantimedh, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the actor playing the fictional filmmaker in Flow.

Joshua M. Sager is a showrunner and executive producer renowned for crafting globally minded, character-driven procedural series and high-concept international co-productions. Having built his career developing “series engines” for industry giants like Netflix, Disney, and DreamWorks, Sager has evolved from architecting expansive IP worlds to spearheading ambitious cross-border television slates. A dual Canadian-American citizen, he serves as a creative and strategic bridge between North America’s commercial storytelling sensibilities and the nuanced, prestige-driven traditions of European and Asian drama. With a keen eye for scalable narratives and culturally resonant storytelling, Sager continues to shape the future of global television. CHOPSO caught up with him to discuss his latest ventures, including the highly anticipated reboot of Charlie Chan alongside filmmaker Quentin Lee.

While making my feature The Way You Dance, one of the great pleasures was working with Dhirendra, a Vancouver-based South Asian Canadian actor. A veteran character performer with a career spanning more than four decades since the mid-’80s, he remains remarkably accessible, collaborative, and—above all—an absolute joy on set. In the film, he plays Hanish Patel, the immigrant father of Angel, one of the story’s three central characters. It’s a role he brings to life with quiet depth and authenticity—qualities that reflect his enduring craft. So when I learned he had been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for his voice performance in Crave’s Superteam Canada, I reached out to him for an interview with CHOPSO. Even after working together, I found myself increasingly fascinated by the arc of his career—and eager to explore the stories behind it.

Yesterday morning, March 29, 2026, I woke up in London, about to fly home, when I discovered that fellow comic Robin Tran had posted a photo of herself with Alex Duong. As I scrolled further through Facebook, I realized that he had passed after his battle with cancer. Sadness and shock overcame me—I knew he was so young, younger than me. He passed at 42.

Coming home from dinner with my son, I just received a Facebook post saying that Nicholas Brendon has passed away in his sleep from natural…

While I couldn’t resist the curiosity of watching Melania on Amazon Prime for free—as anyone might be curious about what a well-shot documentary on the inauguration of an American president looks like—I found myself inevitably comparing it to Triumph of the Will, Leni Riefenstahl’s far more brilliant film about the rise of Adolf Hitler at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. I can hardly recall another feature-length documentary centered on the ascent of a world political figure since Riefenstahl’s artful and controversial propaganda masterpiece—one that won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival before later being widely denounced.

Released in 1977, William Friedkin’s Sorcerer remains a classic thriller that still holds up nearly five decades later. It is a masterclass in filmmaking, proving that true craft is timeless. Cinema is literature in motion—just as a great novel can endure across generations, so can a great film. Well-crafted images, like well-chosen words, do not fade; they stand as lasting testaments to our history and humanity. Released just one month after Star Wars in 1977, Sorcerer faltered at the box office, grossing $9 million worldwide against a $21 million budget. Yet as filmmakers, we cannot control a film’s commercial fate. What we can control is the quality of the work itself—creating something so well made that future generations may rediscover it and recognize its worth.

In Japanese, meaning “golden repair,” Kintsukuroi refers to the traditional art of mending broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum—and it’s…