History

Upon Jonathan Laxamana’s passing in December 2022, Jonathan’s brother, Joe, and many close friends and family wished to establish a fund to help the next generation of film students and creators pursue his same passion for film.  After an initial scholarship granted in Jonathan’s name at Addison Trail High School in Addison, IL in Spring 2023, the group searched for a way to truly connect the fund to Jonathan’s passion.  In Fall 2023, we launched an endowment fund at the University of Illinois within the College of Media.  The Jonathan Laxamana Endowment Fund will provide an annual scholarship to a Media & Cinema Studies student.  Plans also include supporting the annual University of Illinois Student Film Festival.  As Jonathan, his brother, and many of his lifelong friends are alumni of the University of Illinois, and more notably where Jonathan first discovered his passion for film, the endowment is a great memorial and connection to Jonathan and his alma mater.

The Jonathan Laxamana Emerging Filmmaker Award for AAPI Emerging Filmmakers, administered by the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM), will award two short film submissions to The Asian American Showcase in Chicago with a $500 award each. One award will be granted each to a submission in the Documentary Short Film and Narrative Short Film categories. Award winners will be determined by a panel of jurors, and awards will be publicly presented at The Asian American Showcase, held at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago from May 7-12, 2026.

 Award winners must meet the following criteria:

• The filmmaker(s) must identify as Asian American, Asian Canadian, Native Hawaiian, and/or Pacific Islander (AANHPI).

• The film must be selected and screened at The 2026 Asian American Showcase.

• The filmmaker(s) must identify as emerging or early-career. (Please note: FAAIM understands these career stage categories are always in flux, and therefore does not impart a strict definition for them. We generally understand an emerging or early-career filmmaker to be someone who has completed, or is in the process of completing, two or fewer feature films. However, we invite filmmakers to self-identify using their best judgment. Final determination is made by FAAIM staff and jurors.)

• The film must focus on an Asian American, Asian Canadian, Native Hawaiian or a Pacific Islander American central character, community, or experience.

• The total runtime of the film must not exceed 45 minutes.

• The film cannot be an episode or a segment of a series.

• The first theatrical screening date of the film must be on or after January 1, 2025. (Not including screenings for academic instituions or setting)

We are excited and proud to now partner with The Asian American Showcase to launch the Jonathan Laxamana Emerging Filmmaker Award to memorialize Jonathan’s work within the Chicago film festival arena with focus on AAPI cinema. In 2006, Jonathan created the Chicago Filipino Film Festival and led all activities of producing, promoting, and putting on the festival for over ten years.  Jonathan then went on to contribute significantly to the Asian American Showcase for several years.  As with the endowment at the University of Illinois, the Jonathan Laxamana Emerging Filmmaker Award is something that Jonathan would be proud to sponsor, representing his love for film and vision to help emerging film creators in the AAPI communities.

The Truck (dir. Liz Rao) - Narrative

An impulsive Chinese American 17-year-old and her boyfriend try to buy the morning after pill in post-Roe America.

BALIK/BAYAN (dir. Paula Kiley) - Documentary

Chronicles the life of Manny Paez, the founder of Manila Forwarder, a balikbayan box company serving LA’s Filipino American community since 1998.

Over the past 10 years, Jason Matsumoto helped build Full Spectrum Features into a nationally-recognized multimillion dollar arts organization. Jason has produced or executive produced more than 20 short and feature-length films, including titles that have premiered at Sundance and Tribeca. He co-led the development of Full Spectrum’s digital cinematic history program, which has been awarded or presented at the American Historical Association, the National Council on Public History, and the Association for Asian American Studies.

Jason studied and performed taiko for more than 35 years. He led one of the Midwest’s premier taiko ensembles, Ho Etsu Taiko, as both executive and artistic director, and has consulted for Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten, a 160-year-old traditional Japanese instrument maker who officially serves the Emperor of Japan. Prior to a full time career in the arts, Jason spent a decade working in the financial derivatives industry as an equity options trader, and in regulatory oversight and strategic initiatives for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 

Jason is the president of the Midwest Buddhist Temple’s board of trustees, a Council Leader of the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC), and remains involved in the Japanese American and broader Asian American community in Chicago and nationwide. 

Liz Rao is a Gotham-award nominated feature filmmaker, recently named a Vimeo Breakout Creator of the Year 2025 for Writing and Directing THE TRUCK. Rao is based in Brooklyn, with roots in Missouri, Tennessee, and Illinois, and is a Hear Us Grantee for her debut feature screenplay. Rao will earn her MFA at NYU Grad Film, in Screenwriting and Directing later this year. https://www.elizabethrao.com/