Jun 24, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min · 12 segments
Documentary film director, producer, and editor Nisha Balaram joins Kathleen on Hibiku Kotoba as they talk about Nisha's beginnings as an environmental reporter and how Nisha made a career pivot into…
Nisha BalaramGuest
Kathleen WongHost
So now I'm really excited to talk about your recent documentary, Meals That Made Us, which premiered again, premiered last month at Camp Festival in San Francisco.
It's an incredible film that showcases the Asian-American and Asian diaspora across the Bay Area and what food means to us, how food has shaped us.
how food has changed or is adapted or adapting, and what food will be like for the community in the future, whether we are giving it or we are receiving it or how we are making it.
Well, I would like to say I have a really good friend of mine who uses this phrase like it was a moment of serendipity.
But, you know, I'd worked I have worked with Center for Asian American Media with various roles.
So I've seen like on the ground, like very vicariously, the immensity and like the success of CAM's programs and also worked, you know, a co-production between CAM and the PBS.
It was like a live streamed event, but I've been acquainted with many, many folks at CAM and I think there was just this moment where I think Cam was interested in doing a food, something around food.
Like people are very interested in food, but also I think people are equally as interested in food being presented a different way.
And so there was a conversation of like, hey, like, what do you think about a food program? And kind of went back to my drawing board and went, okay, like, how do I make this not cliche? you know, my own and thinking about my food inspirations, but not like not doing what they did per se.
So it just, you know, kind of very smoothly kind of worked its way out, you know, the rollout.
So now I'm really excited to talk about your recent documentary, Meals That Made Us, which premiered again, premiered last month at Camp Festival in San Francisco.
It's an incredible film that showcases the Asian-American and Asian diaspora across the Bay Area and what food means to us, how food has shaped us.
how food has changed or is adapted or adapting, and what food will be like for the community in the future, whether we are giving it or we are receiving it or how we are making it.
Well, I would like to say I have a really good friend of mine who uses this phrase like it was a moment of serendipity.
But, you know, I'd worked I have worked with Center for Asian American Media with various roles.
So I've seen like on the ground, like very vicariously, the immensity and like the success of CAM's programs and also worked, you know, a co-production between CAM and the PBS.
It was like a live streamed event, but I've been acquainted with many, many folks at CAM and I think there was just this moment where I think Cam was interested in doing a food, something around food.
Like people are very interested in food, but also I think people are equally as interested in food being presented a different way.
And so there was a conversation of like, hey, like, what do you think about a food program? And kind of went back to my drawing board and went, okay, like, how do I make this not cliche? you know, my own and thinking about my food inspirations, but not like not doing what they did per se.
So it just, you know, kind of very smoothly kind of worked its way out, you know, the rollout.
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