Celebrate and explore Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with WKAR!
May 1 - May 31. | Airing in primetime on WKAR-HD and WKAR World. Listings are subject to change.
Mon May 1 at 9:30PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Stories from the Stage: Growing Up Asian
Every day, millions of people are creating their own definitions of what it means to be Asian American. And to do this, they rely on history, culture, family and friends to deal with their dual identities. Tellers share stories that speak to the richness and variety of the Asian American experience.
Tue May 2 at 10PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day In March
Explore the fight against Asian American hate following the March 2021 mass shootings at three spas in Atlanta. Examine how this critical moment of racial reckoning sheds light on the struggles, triumphs and achievements of AAPI communities. Repeated on Wed May 3 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2.
Thu May 4 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
America ReFramed: Jaddoland
Nadia Shihab's Jaddoland is an intimate portrait of the work and process of the director's visual artist mother Lahib Jaddo. Jaddoland offers viewers a fresh look at the immigrant story in America. Through an exploration of her mother's art and connections to her life in Texas, Shihab also drafts a unique picture of how art can help both the creator and the audience make sense of familial and cultural connections, loss, perseverance and life.
Fri May 5 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
And Then They Came for Us
As the documentary, And Then They Came for Us, demonstrates, the registration and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII was one of the worst violations of constitutional rights in American history. The US government lied about the threat of espionage to justify the incarceration. Today's Muslim travel ban relies on similar uncorroborated claims of threats to national security. Featuring actor George Takei, and many others who were incarcerated, the film reveals the silence that surrounded the incarceration and the importance of speaking up against the travel ban. Knowing our history is the first step in making sure we do not repeat it. This film is a cautionary tale for these dark times.
Sun May 7 at 10PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
POV: Wuhan Wuhan
Learn the stories of frontline medical workers, patients, and citizens during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city where the mysterious virus was first discovered.
Mon May 8 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Pacific Heartbeat: High Tide, Don't Hide
In the race for existence, striking teenagers discover that activism, authority and awareness make for a steep learning curve. Determined to provoke real action, New Zealand teenagers join the global School Strike for Climate. But planning a movement and building momentum are the easy parts as they face political indifference, their own white privilege, and the ongoing struggle to be heard. Meanwhile, the tides continue to rise.
Thu May 11 at 9PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Reel South: Seadrift
In 1979, a fatal shooting ignites a maelstrom of hostilities against Vietnamese refugee fishermen along the Gulf Coast. Set during the early days of Vietnamese refugee arrival in the U.S., "Seadrift" examines this turbulent yet little-seen chapter of American history and explores its consequences that continue to reverberate today.
Mon May 15 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Local, USA: A Tale of Three Chinatowns
Explore the survival of Chinatowns in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Boston. Through the voices of residents, developers and many others, the film looks at the forces altering each community and the challenges that go with them.
Tue May 16 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
First Peoples: Asia
What happened when we expanded out of Africa and into Asia -- where did we go and whom did they meet along the way? The latest evidence suggests we left far earlier than previously thought and interbred with a newly-discovered type of ancient human -- the Denisovans. The existence of these people was only established four years ago, when geneticists extracted DNA from a tiny fragment of finger bone. And because our ancestors mated with them, their genes found a home within our DNA. More than that, they've helped us survive and thrive.
Tue May 16 at 9PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
American Masters: Nam June Paik
See the world through the eyes of Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the term "electronic superhighway." Experience the acclaimed artist's creative evolution, as Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun reads from Paik's own writings. Repeated on Fri May 19 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2.
Thu May 18 at 8PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
America ReFramed: Far East Deep South
Charles Chiu and his family's search for their roots takes them on an eye-opening journey through the Mississippi Delta, uncovering otherwise unknown stories and the racially complex history of Chinese immigrants in the segregated South. This Chinese American family's unforgettable story offers a poignant and important perspective on race relations, immigration and American identity.
Thu May 18 at 9:30PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
Vanishing Chinatown: The World of the May's Photo Studio
At a time of public outrage over anti-Asian hate crimes, this new documentary shines a light on everyday life in San Francisco's Chinatown a century ago. Hundreds of photographs, serendipitously rescued from a Chinatown dumpster, chronicle the lives of an immigrant community from an insider's perspective. Through images from the early to mid-1900s, they reveal the artistry of a preeminent photographer of the time, preserving community life from civic parades to small businesses to fantastic Cantonese opera scenes.
Sun May 21 at 10PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Independent Lens: Eating Up Easter
See how climate change and a booming tourism trade threaten the fragile economy of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, and meet the local artists, ecologists and developers balancing their strong cultural heritage with modern-day challenges.
Sun May 21 at 10PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Doc World: The Accused: Damned Or Devoted?
Powerful cleric Khadim Rizvi has one mission: to preserve blasphemy laws in Pakistan - they prescribe a death sentence for disrespecting the Prophet Muhammad. He is running for the country's highest office to carry out his goal, silencing anyone who tries to change the law with death. The film follows the rise of Rizvi's push for power as people who have been accused, are just pawns in his game.
Mon May 22 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Asian Americans: Breaking Through
Revisit the turn of the millennium, when Asian Americans are empowered by growing numbers and rising influence but face a reckoning of what it means to be an American in an increasingly polarized society.
Mon May 22 at 9PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Local, USA: Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond Volume 1
Queer filmmaker, Quyen Nguyen-Le, recovers and articulates the legacy of their mother's nail salon for their refugee family, and Filipino-American filmmaker Frances Rubio captures the experience of being distanced from her father during the pandemic.
Mon May 22 at 10PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
Fanny: The Right to Rock
Sometime in the 1960s, in sunny Sacramento, two Filipina American sisters got together with other teenage girls to play music. Little did they know their garage band would evolve into the legendary rock group Fanny, the first all-women band to release an LP with a major record label. Despite releasing five critically-acclaimed albums over five years, touring with famed bands from Slade to Chicago and amassing a dedicated fan base of music legends including David Bowie, Fanny's groundbreaking impact in music was written out of history... until bandmates reunite 50 years later with a new rock record deal. With incredible archival footage of the band's rocking past intercut with its next chapter releasing a new LP today, the film includes interviews with a large cadre of music icons, including Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, Bonnie Raitt, The Go-Go's Kathy Valentine, Todd Rundgren, The Runaways' Cherie Currie, Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian, The B52's Kate Pierson, Charles Neville and David Bowie guitarist and bassist Earl Slick and Gail Ann Dorsey. Fighting early barriers of race, gender and sexuality in the music industry, and now ageism, the incredible women of Fanny are ready to claim their hallowed place in the halls of rock 'n' roll fame.
Tue May 23 at 10PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
Frontline: Once Upon A Time In Iraq: Fallujah
The enduring story of the battle of Fallujah, told by the people who lived through it. Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, soldiers, journalists and ordinary Iraqis recount one of the defining episodes of the war. Repeated on Wed May 24 at 9PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2.
Thu May 25 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
America ReFramed: First Vote
First Vote is a character-driven verite documentary with unparalleled access to a diverse cross section of politically engaged Chinese Americans: a gun-toting Tea Party-favorite candidate courting GOP votes in the South; a podcaster in Ohio who became a citizen in order to vote for Trump; a long-haired journalist confronting Chinese Americans for Trump after moving to a battleground state; and a University of North Carolina professor teaching about race and racism in the US. A verite look at Chinese American electoral organizing in North Carolina and Ohio, the film weaves their stories from the presidential election of 2016 to the 2018 midterms, and explores the intersections between immigration, voting rights and racial justice. Until 1952, federal law barred immigrants of Asian descent from becoming U.S. citizens and voting. Today, Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in the United States. More than 11 million Asian Americans will be able to vote in 2020. Directed by Yi Chen, a Chinese immigrant and first-time voter herself, First Vote is a must-watch and rare long-form look at the diverse Asian American electorate.
Thu May 25 at 9PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
China: Frame By Frame
Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Bill Einreinhofer reflects on the time he spent in China, what he discovered, what he learned and the dramatic changes he witnessed. His pictures include original interviews and scenes shot throughout China, as well as little seen historical footage discovered in the most unlikely of places: America's National Archives and the Library of Congress.
Sun May 28 at 9PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Armed with Language
ARMED WITH LANGUAGE tells the story of how a little-known military intelligence school in Minnesota played a pivotal role in ending World War II. The institution trained more than 6,000 Japanese Americans, or Nisei, to be translators, interrogators, and Japanese military specialists. After decades of being classified, the story of their courage, sacrifice, and valor is finally being told.
Sun May 28 at 10PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Betrayed: Surviving An American Concentration Camp
BETRAYED: SURVIVING AN AMERICAN CONCENTRATION CAMP tells the story of a group of Japanese Americans and their incarceration by the U.S. government during World War II. It also explores the long-term effects of this incarceration and the phenomenon of intergenerational trauma. More than 40 camp survivors and descendants bring an unparalleled immediacy and urgency to the story.
Mon May 29 at 8PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Pacific Heartbeat: American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai'i
AMERICAN ALOHA: HULA BEYOND HAWAI'I tells the stories of three kumu hula (master instructors) who direct hula schools based in California. The film explores the challenges they face trying to perpetuate hula faithfully, from the very traditional to the contemporary, as it evolves on distant shores. Their stories serve as a reminder of the power of tradition for communities creating a home away from home.
Mon May 29 at 9PM on WKAR WORLD 23.2
Local, USA: Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond Volume 2
Filipinx filmmaker Bree Nieves and her cousin grapple with what remains of their dreams, after losing one of their fathers; and Chanthon Bun must tread carefully after being released from prison since he lost his legal protection to live in the U.S.
Mon May 29 at 10PM on WKAR-HD 23.1
Independent Lens: The Donut King
Hear the incredible story of Ted Ngoy. After fleeing Cambodia for the United States, he built a multi-million-dollar fried pastry empire, Christy's Doughnuts, and began living his American Dream. But a great rise often comes with a great fall.