Character Media and GoldenTV celebrated a year in entertainment and culture at its annual Unforgettable Awards.
The event — which celebrates Asian and Pacific Islander excellence in film, TV and culture — took place Saturday at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, bringing out a slew of big-name honorees including Hamnet director Chloé Zhao, Saturday Night Live alum Bowen Yang and KPop Demon Hunters voice actors Arden Cho and Ji-young Yoo.
GoldenTV CEO Takashi Cheng kicked off the event before jumping into the awards. Beef season two star Charles Melton presented Zhao with the global icon award. The actor gave a moving introduction to the director, recalling a conversation the two had when Melton told her that he hadn’t fully grasped Shakespearean prose and sharing how needed Zhao is to the world as a storyteller. “We need her films. We need her voice. We need her way,” he told the crowd.
“Chloé Zhao for president,” he joked, getting a cheer from the audience. Zhao gave Melton a long hug after taking the stage. “You are an incredible human being and artist,” she told the actor.
Zhao spoke about how proud she was to be Chinese and expressed how lucky she feels to be able to tell stories for a living during her speech. “It is the birthright of every human being to use their creativity to alchemize their life experiences, no matter how difficult they are,” she said, adding it’s not a hobby or job but, again, a birthright. “I want to thank everyone of you who exercised that birthright to experience the luminous and to connect with your own inner divinity, and thank you for helping others remember that too.”
Yang was presented with the actor in film award for his role in The Wedding Banquet. Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka presented the SNL alum with the award. “Wow, I cannot believe that I beat out Jackie Chan in The Karate Kid for this,” he said to kick off his speech, eliciting laughs from the crowd.
“Look, acting is so weird because you basically stand on a piece of tape, you say some stuff, maybe you’re wearing a toupee like I did in Wicked, and you’re supposed to cry on cue after someone’s offered an Altoid [mint],” Yang continued. “Then six months later, a flight attendant will bring it up and call you brave while you’re stepping into the lavatory.”
Yang noted acting can make one move through life in the third person and talked about the reality of API visibility up until recently. “Step into rooms and you were very aware of yourself immediately. You were noticed but maybe not in the way you would want to be. Be seen but maybe too seen, too flattened, too misunderstood,” he said.
“That makes you move through life in the third person too,” he continued. “I’m so, so happy and lucky that it’s starting to change now because of rooms like this.”
KPop Demon Hunters was presented with the Vanguard Award. Yoo and and Cho, two of the three main voice actors for the film, accepted the award on the movie’s behalf. The pair emphasized what a love letter the film is to Korean culture and music but also that it’s truly a celebration of culture and community.
Daniel Dae Kim and Park Chan-wook were presented with the actor in television and director award, respectively. Both were unable to attend but sent in video messages thanking the organization and the crowd.
Several other awards were handed out throughout the night. Lawrence Shou received the breakout in film award; Te Ao o Hinepehinga received the breakout in television award; Lloyd Lee Choi received the received the writer award; Leenda Dong received the digital influencer award; Jet Tila received the culinary excellence awards.
There were performances sprinkled throughout the night, including Traitors star Eric Nam, magician and mentalist Kevin Li, singer Peng Peng and singer-songwriter Sinéad Harnett.
The 2026 Selection Committee was co-chaired by Simu Liu and Chen and includes Agnes Lew, Adele Lim, Awkwafina, Bao Nguyen, Benedict Wong, Bing Chen, Brandon Rieggs, Bretman Rock, Celine Song, Daniel Henney, Daniel Wu, Domee Shi, Janet Yang, Jeanne Yang, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Jeremy Tran, Jessica Gao, Jessica Henwick, Jinny Howe, Joan Chen, Jodi Long, Joseph Lee, Julia Cho, Julia Gouw, Ken Jeong, Kevin Kwan, Leonardo Nam, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Miranda Kwok, Nico Santos, Nina Yang, Norman Chen, Phil Wang, Phillip Sun, Randall Park, Rebecca Sun, Samantha Quan, Shannon Lee and Takashi Cheng.
The 2026 Unforgettable Gala is set to stream as a special on GoldenTV on March 13.
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