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HAIBAYO Cares

HAIBAYO Cares connects immigrants and younger generations through food, preserving culinary traditions and fostering community. They celebrate AAPI stories and identities through film, highlighting the emotional ties that food creates across cultures.

Join us for a collection of short films from underrepresented voices&mdash;including indigenous, queer, and gender-based perspectives. As a result of 20th-century imperialism, the Southeast Asian diaspora largely springs from refugees escaping violence and political persecution. After leaving their homelands, displaced families across the U.S. worked to build new lives from scratch. Today, new generations are finding ways to preserve their elders&rsquo; stories of trauma, grief, and resilience&mdash;especially those of Southeast Asian marginalized communities, whose journeys are rarely highlighted. &nbsp; These six short films are all about honoring cultural tradition while fighting for a better future, whether that&rsquo;s through local activism, community spaces, storytelling, art, or culinary practices. Filmmakers Quy&ecirc;n Nguy&ecirc;n-Le and Pader Xiong in attendance for a post-screening audience Q&amp;A. With food for purchase by <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.alohaeats.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Aloha Eats</a>!

FAAIM First Thursday's: Southeast Asian American Journeys

FAAIM First Thursday is proud to present GOH NAKAMURA - A Career Retrospect (so far). Join us and Goh for a lively discussion on his life in front of the microphone as a musician, behind the camera as a composer, and in front of the camera as a actor, then stay for a live musical performance. While not a household name, we know of one person who has done all of this&hellip;GOH NAKAMURA!!!As a musician, our friend Goh&rsquo;s first two albums Daylight Savings (2004) and Ulysses (2008) gained enough attention and praise to get him the opening slot for shows with Adele, Glen Hansard, and Stephen Malkmus in the Bay Area.&nbsp; As an actor, Goh made his acting debut as the star of Surrogate Valentine (2011) and Daylight Savings&nbsp;(2012), which were both directed by Dave Boyle and premiered at SXSW. These films, along with I Will Make You Mine (2020, dir. Lynn Chen) form a trilogy in which Goh plays himself. As a composer, Goh has scored two of Bao Nguyen&rsquo;s feature documentaries, the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Be Water&nbsp;(2020) about Bruce Lee, and The Greatest Night in Pop&nbsp;(2024), the untold story about the making of the song &ldquo;We Are The World,&rdquo; which both premiered at Sundance. Hosted by HAIBAYO Cares, this event supports our work on Argyle Street to nurture an inclusive creative space for Southeast Asian and BIPOC artists, cultural producers, and families. Your registration helps sustain a neighborhood hub where local stories, sounds, and small businesses can grow together. 🎟️

FAAIM First Thursday’s: Goh Nakamura

August 6th, 20266PM - Doors Open 6:30PM - Begin Program <a fr-original-style="text-align: center;" href="https://haibayo.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Haibayo Cafe</a> <a fr-original-style="text-align: center;" href="https://maps.google.com/?q=1132+W+Argyle+St+Chicago+IL+60640" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">1132 W Argyle St, Chicago, IL 60640</a> Food connects immigrants and younger generations to each other, evoking memories of family and community. Even as AAPI culinary practices evolve, traditional ingredients and techniques honor the struggles of our elders as they created a sense of &ldquo;home&rdquo; away from their homelands. Whether it&rsquo;s running a multi-generational family business or building identity and community through familiar flavors, these six short films are about cooking, serving, and eating through the lenses of AAPI filmmakers and storytellers. A Slice of HomeDirected &amp; Produced by Pauline Tran <a fr-original-style="" href="https://paulinetran.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">paulinetran.co</a>mBetween the hum of mixers and the scent of coconut, Brooklyn baker <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/staceymeiyanfong/?hl=en" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Stacey Mei Yan Fong</a> prepares a pandan pie in memory of her Singaporean grandfather, blending Americana with Asian flavors and a touch of nostalgia. Each whisk and pour is paired with reflections on bicultural identity, family expectations, and the ways food encapsulates love across time and cultures.2026 | Documentary | USA | &nbsp;15 mins | English | Digital I Pie (A Love Story)Directed by Nobu AdilmanA pie man discusses his love for baking pies... and only pies.2007 | Narrative | USA | &nbsp;6 mins | English | Digital Benkyodo:&nbsp;The Last Manju Shop in J-TownDirected by Akira Boch, Tadashi Nakamura <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.akiraboch.com/%EF%BF%BCIG:" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">akiraboch.com</a> <a fr-original-style="" href="https://tadashinakamura.com/%EF%BF%BCIG:" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">tadashinakamura.com IG:</a> <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/tadashinakamurafilms" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">tadashinakamurafilms</a>Ricky and Bobby Okamura wrestle with closing their beloved family-owned manju shop after serving the San Francisco Japantown community for 115&nbsp;years.2023 | Documentary | USA | &nbsp;15 mins | English | Digital MSG:&nbsp;Mysterious Savory GrainsDirected by Kyle Finnegan Produced by Yi Chen, Kyle Finnegan <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.kylefinnegan.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">kylefinnegan.com</a> IG: <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/c35films" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">c35films</a>Tim Ma is on a mission to change that perception and use MSG as a way to share his culture through food. Through interviews with Ma and two MSG experts, the documentary explores the origin of MSG&#39;s stigma and how the ways we talk about food can be just as pervasive today. IG: <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/msg_documentary/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">MSG_Documentary</a> IG: <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/snacknight.mov/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">SnackNight.mov</a>2023 | Documentary | USA | 13 mins | English | Digital Sameer and the Giant SamosaDirected by Faroukh Virani Written by Meenakshi Ramamurthy, Faroukh Virani <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.faroukh.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">faroukh.com</a> linkedin: <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakshi-ramamurthy-50ab3ba/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Meenakshi Ramamurthy</a>&quot;Sameer and the Giant Samosa&quot; is a dark comedy about a newlywed Indian couple and their diverging views on marriage and tradition. A surreal turn of events reveals the groom&#39;s true, hidden appetites.2016 | Narrative | USA | 5 mins | English | Digital What I Am Today:&nbsp;Maa Maa DeiDirected by Ian Szetho <a fr-original-style="" href="https://ianszetho.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">ianszetho.com</a>Jessica &quot;Jaye&quot; Fong started her pop-up, Maa Maa Dei, to capture the experience of growing up as an Asian-American restaurant kid in the Midwest. From growing up as a Third Culture restaurant kid to pursuing a career in &nbsp;architecture/engineering in Chicago, this story ultimately showcases how our lineage can impact our trajectory in life and can shape what we aspire to do with the time we are given.IG: <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/maa.maa.dei/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">@maa.maa.dei</a> and <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/threetopproductions/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">@threetopproductions</a>2025 | Documentary | USA | 19 mins | English | Digital

FAAIM First Thursday’s  AAPI Film Night: Second Helpings

Not all heroes wear capes&mdash;they wear (and donate!) face masks. On October 22, join us for a screening of The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook. Stepping up during the COVID-19 pandemic when the U.S. government failed to address public health needs, Kristina Wong launched this volunteer collective of largely Asian American and BIPOC women to handcraft and donate cloth facemasks across the nation. As police violence and anti-Asian rhetoric fueled more political upheaval, the group became a community space for solidarity, grief, anger, and hope.&nbsp;Be sure to attend this event to learn more about this mutual aid effort and see an example of grassroots activism. October 22nd, 2026 6PM - Doors Open 6:30PM - Begin ProgramWith food for purchase by&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://anchoi.my.canva.site/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Ăn Chơi</a> <a fr-original-style="" href="https://haibayo.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Haibayo Cafe</a> <a fr-original-style="" href="https://maps.google.com/?q=1132+W+Argyle+St+Chicago+IL+60640" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">1132 W Argyle St, Chicago, IL 60640</a>Admission is Free! (Donations Appreciated)

FAAIM Special Screening:  The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790638459/wysiwyg/by9flmivrcjbrtynfdj3.jpg" style="width: 667px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 667px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"> Asian American Arts Chicago &amp; HAIBAYO present: &quot;Permission to Fail&quot;, an artist salon series. This event features two days of unfinished creative works &amp; performances from local Asian American Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian artists --- film, dance, theatre, fine art &amp; more.&nbsp; Donation-based. All welcome.&nbsp;

Permission to Fail

If you love a good surprise, join FAAIM on November 5 for a rare screening of a mystery movie! Hand-picked by our in-house AAPI Master Film Programmer Tim Hugh, this film is a poignant exploration of Asian American cultural identity, including the conflicting tensions between family expectations and societal pressures. We will be dropping clues about the movie in our social media, so subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky for updates.

HAIBAYO Cares

Events

Events

FAAIM Special Screening: The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook

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Permission to Fail

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FAAIM First Thursday’s: Mystery Movie

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