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SPOTLIGHT: MARGARET CHO

Every year, CAAM is honored to celebrate someone who has made an indelible mark in the media landscape. Previous Spotlights include Wayne Wang, Gurinder Chandha, James Shigeta, Anna May Wong, Pei-Pei Cheng, Alice Wu, H.P. Mendoza, Deanne Borshay Liem and Valerie Soe. This May, we are proud to honor three outstanding industry leaders: Actor/Director Dante Basco, Director Evan Jackson Leong and Actor/Producer Margaret Cho.

Margaret Cho is a cultural icon and her impact in the media landscape is legendary. She’s a comedian, actor, musician, advocate, entrepreneur and artist.  Margaret was born and raised in San Francisco, an experience that she can say with all sincerity helped to shape her world-view. “There were old hippies, ex-druggies, burnouts, drag queens, and Chinese people. It was a really confusing, enlightening, wonderful time.”

Her groundbreaking, controversial ABC sitcom, All-American Girl (1994) soon followed. Oddly, while ABC courted her because she was a non-conformist Korean American woman with liberal views, the powers-that-be decided Margaret should “tone it down” for the show. Although she was an Executive Producer, this would be a battle she could not win. After the show, Margaret produce many live concert specials including I’M THE ONE THAT I WANT, NOTORIOUS C.H.O. and REVOLUTION.

In 2021, we celebrate her legacy with a virtual conversation and the premiere of KOREATOWN GHOST STORY, which is produced and stars in.

In this program


IN CONVERSATION WITH MARGARET CHO AND KOREATOWN GHOST STORY

Join us as we sit down with CAAMFest 2021 Spotlight honoree, Margaret Cho and talk about her successful career.

KOREATOWN GHOST STORY

Directed by Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum

In this supernatural horror tale based on a Korean ritual starring legendary Margaret Cho and Lyrica Okano, a woman entertains a macabre offer that would let her pursue her dreams, for better or for much much worse.