February
17, 2020 (Chicago, IL) Asian Pop-Up Cinema is thrilled to
announce the
full line-up for its 10th Season by celebrating with 16 new films from
Asia. Many of these will feature the top actors and directors who are
scheduled to
visit our city as guests of the non-profit pan-Asian film organization, Sophia’s
Choice.
Season Ten runs for five-weeks from March 10
through April 9, 2020. Each week will be
dedicated to highlighting films from the same geographic location with one film
shown on different days each week. A majority of the screenings will be
presented at the festival’s primary venue, AMC River East 21. Select
titles are screened at collaborative partners’ premises: Chicago Filmmakers, Alliance Française de Chicago, and the Chinese American Museum.
Asian
Pop-Up Cinema’s Season Ten opens
by honoring Hong Kong filmmaking with two North American Premieres starting
with i’m living it on March 10. Nominated for 10 awards from the 39th
Hong Kong Film Awards, i’m living it,
tells the story of a man who was once a star in his finance firm (Aaron Kwok), but
now spends his life in a 24-hour fast-food joint living with other homeless
roommates striving to encourage each other. Best new director nominee Wong Hing
Fan and actress Kathy Wu will attend the premiere. The 2nd North American Premiere on
March 11, A Witness Out of The Blue, nominated
for 6 Awards, is a classic whodunit
where a detective relies on a not-so-human witness to catch the killer. Actor
Philip Keung, nominee for the Best Supporting Actor, will receive Asian Pop-Up
Cinema’s Bright Star Award. Director Fung Chih-chiang will be receiving
the award on his behalf.
Programming from Hong Kong continues with two
comedies making their Chicago Premieres;
First Night Nerves where Variety calls it “a homage to
drama-queen actresses plays like a cross between ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘Feud’”;
directed by Stanley Kwan, one of the few directors in Asia renown for making
films about gender roles and sexuality; followed by Men on the Dragon, portraying four middle-aged men each dealing with their personal
crisis while training in a dragon boat race.
Leading this season’s mainland Chinese
production is helmed by 5th generation director Liu Miaomiao’s Red Flowers and Green Leaves on March
18, a tender love story that takes place in China’s northwestern region where
Chinese Muslims live; followed by two indie films made by young filmmakers that
have earned European film festivals’ nods: 3 Adventures of Brooke, a Venice Film Festival selection, and Vanishing Days, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival Forum. Included in the mix is a cross-continental
production of A Touch of Spring
(Quebec/China), with Chinese-Canadian director He Xiaodan is scheduled to attend.
The
Centerpiece film on March 25 is in honor of Kobe Bryant and his
daughter Gigi.
We Are
Champions from Taiwan,
portrays two
teenage brothers with nothing but each other, hope to change their fate through
their love of basketball - yet they cross paths on their way to ultimate
basketball glory — the HBL championship. Both actors Fandy
Fan and Berant Zhu will receive the Bright
Star Award from Asian Pop Up Cinema. The
second Taiwanese film, Detention is
a psychological horror film set in 1960s Taiwan under martial law, “represents
a significant milestone in Taiwan’s reckoning with its authoritarian past.” (Cinema Escapist 12/2/2019)
Season Ten then segues to honor South Korea, with
a Chicago Premiere Vertigo on April
1 about a unique romance between a female graphic designer suffering from
vertigo and a male skyscraper window cleaner; and U.S. Premiere of Paper Flower on April 2 about an old
funeral director who helps the homeless set up a memorial service of a local
noodle shop owner against City Hall’s rules.
Both Directors will be at their screenings. One of the country's most respected actors,
credited in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years, Ahn Sung-Ki
of Paper Flower will accept festival’s
Career
Achievement Award before the feature presentation.
Next up is Japan' indie film, Life Finds A Way on April 4 at Chicago
Filmmakers. A director struggles with every artist’s creative crisis: what should
his next film be about? Chicago’s independent filmmaking community will hear
first-hand from the director and screenwriter Hirobumi Watanabe about this relatable film.
The historical drama Samurai
Marathon 1855, premieres in Chicago on April 8. Directed by Britain’s Bernard
Rose (Immortal Beloved), with producer Jeremy Thomas and composer Philip
Glass, the film takes place during the feudal era and is inspired by a historical race said to have been the origin of marathons in
Japan.
Closing Night is April 9 and the U.S. Premiere
of Shape of Red with director Yukiko
Mishima in attendance. Based on the
novel “Red” by female author Rio Shimamoto, a married woman has a love affair
with an old boyfriend and has to make a difficult choice. Japan Senior
Film Critic at The Japan Times, Mark
Schilling, returns this season to moderate the Q&A discussion with the
directors for the last three movies at the festival.
“2020
is our first 5th anniversary. Together
with our peers around the world championing foreign language films, we are
super excited with South Korea’s “Parasite”, first non-English film to ever win
Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards,” said Founder and Executive Director
of Asian Pop-Up Cinema, Sophia
Wong Boccio. “We look forward to attracting
wider American audiences to our specially curated program that promises to break
down boundaries and overcome distances between people.”
Film details, trailers and ticketing for each
screening, plus information on special guests, are below and available at www.asianpopupcinema.org.
Guests confirmed and scheduled to attend
Season 10 are:
Hong
Kong
·
Wong
Hing Fan (director) i’m livin’ it
·
Kathy
Wu (actress) i’m livin’ it
·
Fung
Chih-chiang (director) A Witness Out of
the Blue
Canada
·
Xiaodan
He (director) A Touch of Spring
Taiwan
·
Rachel
Chen (producer) We Are Champions
·
Berant
Zhu (actor) We Are Champions and
Recipient of Bright Star Award
·
Lee
Yuan-yuan (Assistant to Zhu) We are
Champions
South Korea
·
Gye-soo
Jeon, (director) Vertigo
·
Koh
Hoon, (director) Paper Flower
·
Ahn
Sung Ki (actor) Paper Flower and Recipient
of Career Achievement Award
Japan
·
Hirobumi
Watanabe (writer/director/actor) Life
Finds A Way
·
Yukiko
Mishima (director) Shape of Red
All
films are shown in their original language with English subtitles.
Post-screenings discussion will be led by Ron
Falzone, Associate Professor of Cinema and Television Arts at Columbia
College Chicago or by Mark Schilling,
senior film critic of Japan Times or Sophia Wong Boccio, Asian Pop-Up Cinema
Founder and Executive Director.
Tickets
for Asian Pop-Up Cinema - Season Ten are on sale now; individual tickets
are
$10. A limited number of free tickets
are available to students on a first-come, first-served basis. All
Season Passes are available at a discounted rate of $100 with reserved
seating for the
entire season. All tickets and events info are available at www.asianpopupcinema.org/tickets
Select
films are available for advance screening/review on a case-by-case basis; to
request screenings links or interviews with Asian Pop-up Cinema founder Sophia
Wong Boccio or filmmakers/cast of select films, contact Danielle Garnier,
Garnier Public Relations, 312-841-3500 danielle@garnierpr.com
ASIAN POP- UP CINEMA - SEASON TEN Full
Schedule and Film Details
Opening Night film
Tuesday, March 10, 7:00PM @ AMC River
East 21
i’m living it – (麥路人) North American Premiere
Introduction
and Q&A with Director Wong Hing Fan, and Actress Kathy Wu
Hong
Kong | 2019 | Drama | 115 Minutes | In Cantonese w/ Chinese and English
subtitles
Director:
Wong Hing Fan
Starring: Aaron Kwok, Miriam Yeung, Alex Man, Cheung Tat-Ming, Nina Paw, Cya Liu, Zeno Koo, Kathy Wu,
Gaga Wong
Film Source: Entertaining Power Co. Limited
Once a star in his finance firm, Bowen (Aaron
Kwok) now spends his nights in a 24-hour fast food joint, where he encounters
other “roommates” who are in a similar predicament: a mother (Cya Liu) with her
daughter who has taken out high-interest loans to cover her mother-in-law’s
debt, an old man (Alex Man) who is too afraid to go home, a young runaway (Zeno
Koo), and a singer (Miriam Yeung) living in a temporary shelter. Together these
accidental roommates must strive to lift one another out of rock bottom.
Wednesday, March 11, 7:00PM @ AMC River
East 21
A WITNESS OUT OF THE BLUE – (犯罪現場) North
American Premiere
Introduction
and Q&A with Director Fung Chih-Chiang
Hong
Kong | 2019 | Crime/Thriller| 104 Minutes | In Cantonese
w/ Chinese and English subtitles
Director:
Fung Chih-Chiang
Starring:
Louis Koo, Louis Cheung, Jessica Hsuan, Cherry Ngan, Philip Keung, Fiona
Sit, Patrick Tam, Andy On
Film Source: One Cool Pictures
A man is found dead inside
an apartment with a strange noise, "Help! Help!" next to the body.
Detective Larry Lam (Louis Cheung) arrives at the scene with Detective
Charmaine (Cherry Ngan) and his commanding officer Yip Sau Ching (Philip Keung). Yip Sau Ching is convinced the deceased,
Homer Tsui (Deep Ng) is killed by his partner in crime, Sean Wong (Louis Koo)
when they had a fight over how to divvy up the loot from an armed robbery three
months ago. But Larry soon finds out the case is more complicated than they
imagine, and not only Sean, but there are also other suspects. Frank’s only hope in cracking the case lies
in the not-so-human sole witness left at the scene of the crime – a parrot that
can talk.
Thursday, March 12, 7:00 PM @ AMC
River East 21
FIRST NIGHT NERVES (八個女人一台戲) | Chicago Premiere
Hong
Kong | 2018 | Drama/Comedy | 100 Minutes | In Cantonese and Mandarin w/ English
subtitles
Director:
Stanley Kwan
Starring:
Sammi Cheng, Gigi Leung, Bai Bai-He, Angie Chiu
Film
Source: Golden Scene
“Two Sisters” is a new play, written and
directed by the trans woman Ouyang An, and will have its first night in Hong
Kong's venerable City Hall soon. In the last seven days of rehearsals, many
hidden tensions rise to the surface, sparked by the longstanding rivalry
between the two lead actresses Yuan Xiu-ling (a stage veteran making her
comeback a year after the death of her faithless husband) and He Yu-wen (a
smart movie actress making her stage debut).
Saturday, March 14, 2:00 PM @ Chinese-American
Museum
MEN ON THE
DRAGON (逆流大叔) | Chicago Premiere | Free and Open To the
Public
Hong
Kong | 2018 | Sport/Comedy | 92 Minutes | In Cantonese w/ Chinese and
English subtitles
Director: Sunny
Chan
Starring: Francis Ng, Poon
Chan-Leung, Kenny Wong, Wu Tsz-Tung Tony, Nancy Wu, Jennifer Yu
Film source: One Cool Pictures
Lung, Tai, Suk-Yi and
William are happy-go-lucky employees of a broadband network company who muddle
their way through each day at work. When massive layoffs are expected, they
pledge their loyalty to the company by signing up for the newly formed dragon
boat team. When they embark on their rigid training, they’re inevitably forced
to face the respective mid-life crises they have been dodging. As they rekindle
their long-lost fighting spirit, they begin to welcome the challenges in life.
Monday,
March 16, 6:30PM @ Alliance Francaise de
Chicago
A TOUCH OF SPRING (Un
printemps d'ailleurs) (春色撩人) | Chicago Premiere
Introduction and Q&A with Director He Xiaodan
Q&A Moderated by: Sophia Wong Boccio,
Founder & Executive Director of Asian Pop-up Cinema
Canada/China
| 2017 | Drama | 87 Minutes | In
Mandarin and French w/ English subtitles
Director
and Screenwriter: He Xiaodan
Starring: Yan Wen-Si, Émile Proulx Cloutier, Zhao Xuan,
Yan Cheng, Cui Ke-Fa
Film Source: Film Options International
Li Fang
is a Chinese immigrant who has been living in Montreal for over 10 years. Her
infertility and her violent separation from her Québécois husband, Eric, have
pushed her to the brink of despair. Escaping the chaos in Montreal, Li Fang
visits her grandfather in Dazu, her birthplace in south China. The support and
inspiration provided by her family and an old lover helps her break the impasse
in her life.
Wednesday,
March 18, 7:00 PM @ AMC
River East 21
RED FLOWERS AND GREEN LEAVES (红花绿叶) | Chicago Premiere
China
| 2018 | Drama | 96 Minutes | In Mandarin w/ English subtitles
Director:
Liu Miao-Miao, Hu Wei-Jie
Starring:
Luo Ke-Wang, Ma Si-Qi, Zhang Ling, Zhang Jing, Zhang Shou-Pan, Wu Hui-Jun
Film source: Parallax Films
Red Flowers and Green Leaves arranges its
plot around a newlywed couple. Haunted by an unidentified and stubborn ailment
since infancy, a young man, Gubo, reckons himself as unlikable and has no
intent for marriage. Under family arrangement and beyond all expectations, he
marries a capable and attractive woman, Asheeyen. Suddenly, two strangers are
sharing the same bed. As time passes, they become aware of each other's past
once concealed by the elders. Will they learn forgiveness and nourish true
love? Will they savor the prospect of a happy family?
Thursday,
March 19, 7:00 PM @ AMC
River East 21
3 ADVENTURES OF BROOKE (星溪的三次奇遇) | U.S. Premiere
China/Malaysia
| 2018 | Drama | 100 Minutes | In Chinese and English w/ English subtitles
Director,
Editor, and Screenwriter: Yuan Qing
Starring:
Xu Fang-Yi, Pascal Greggory, Ribbon, Kam Kia-Kee, Allan Toh Wei-Lun, Lim
Yi-Xin, Zhan Zi-Zhen, Andrew Lok
Film source: Parallax Films
Brooke, a
Chinese young woman, travels alone to Alor Setar, a small town in Northern
Malaysia. As a consequence of a blown tire, she experiences three variant
adventures. Brooke may be a traveler, an anthologist, or a disheartened
divorcée. As she introduces herself to people using different identities, what
mysterious secrets are hidden behind her? In return, what the journey brings
her is thoroughly unexpected.
Saturday, March 21,
7:00 PM @ Chicago Filmmakers
VANISHING DAYS (漫遊) | U.S.
Premiere
China | 2018 | Drama/Mystery | 94 minutes | In Mandarin w/ English
subtitles
Director: Zhu Xin
Starring: Jiang Li, Huang Jing, Chen Yan, Li Xiao-Xing, Luo Hai-Qing,
Lu Jia-He
Film source: Parallax Films
Vanishing Days was made by 22-year-old
director Zhu Xin. This debut feature focuses on the exploration of a little
girl Li Sen-Lin during the summer holiday. Li Sen-Lin loses her turtle while
her father is away on a business trip. There's another "Sen-Lin" that
keeps on being mentioned by her parents. She faintly suspects that Auntie Qiu
is actually her biological mother. The summer rain pours down as memory and
reality interweave into one another. The poetic and mythic feeling
distinguishes Vanishing Days from most of the films that boast a realist
touch.
It premiered at the 23rd Busan International Film Festival and was nominated
for "New Currents Award". It was also selected to the 69th Berlinale,
Forum and nominated for "Golden Star" at the 16th Marrakech
International Film Festival.
Centerpiece
Wednesday,
March 25, 7:00 PM @ AMC River East 21
WE ARE CHAMPIONS (下半場) | Chicago
Premiere
Introduction
and Q&A with Producer Rachel Chen, and Actor Berant Zhu
Berant
Zhu is the recipient of BRIGHT STAR AWARD.
Award ceremony before feature presentation.
Taiwan |
2019 | Drama | 117 Minutes | In Mandarin w/ English & subtitles
Director:
Chang Jung-Chi
Starring: Fandy Fan, Berant Zhu, Tuan
Chun-Hao, David Wu
Film Source: We are Champions Film Limited
Born into the bottom rungs of
society, two teenage brothers with nothing but each other hope to change their
fate through their love of basketball. Little brother Tung-Hao joins an elite
school and transforms into a dazzling superstar; big brother Hsiu-Yu ends up on
a ragtag squad about to be disbanded, finding an unexpected new brotherhood in
his never-say-die teammates. Eventually, the brothers cross paths on their way
to ultimate basketball glory — the HBL championship —where they will discover
that something is more important than winning.
This film screened at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Toronto Reel
Asian International Film Festival and the San Diego Asian Film Festival in
2019. Fandy Fan won the Best New Performer in Golden Horse Awards.
Thursday,
March 26, 7:00 PM @ AMC RIVER EAST 21
DETENTION (返校) | Chicago Premiere
Taiwan | 2019 | Suspense/Thriller |103 Minutes | In Mandarin w/ English
and Chinese subtitles
Director: John Hsu
Starring: Gingle
Wang, Tseng Ching-Hua, Fu Meng-Po
Film Source: Mandarin Vision Co. Limited
In 1962, a sense of
desolation and tension permeates society. Fang, a twelfth grader at Tsui-Hua
Senior High School, falls in love with Zhang, a counseling teacher. Troubled by
the problems at school and home, Fang feels that Zhang is the only person who
understands her. Longing for freedom, Zhang forms a study group with his
colleagues and students, including Yin and Wei. Reading the banned books allows
them to be liberated for a brief moment but at the same time, they put their
lives in great danger. One day, Zhang vanishes into thin air, and only Fang and
Wei, an eleventh grader, remember him. Together, Fang and Wei start looking for
the disappeared teacher but find the school gradually slipping out of the world
they are familiar with. Then in a realm dominated by ghosts and spirits, the
pair are forced to face the terrifying truth....
Detention is the winner of the 56th Golden Horse Awards for the Best Adapted
Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and the Best Original Film
Song with
director John Hsu took away the Best New Director
with Detention. This film is also nominated for the Best
Narrative Feature, Best Action
Choreography, Best Original Film Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound
Effects. The Taiwanese actress, Gingle Wang is nominated for Best Leading
Actress.
Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 PM @ AMC RIVER EAST 21
VERTIGO (버티고)
| Chicago Premiere
Introduction and Q&A with Director Jeon
Gye-Soo
South Korea | 2019 |
Romance/Drama | 114 Minutes | In Korean w/ English subtitles
Director: Jeon
Gye-Soo
Starring: Chun
Woo-Hee, Yoo Teo, Jeong Jae-Kwang
Film Source: FINECUT Co., Ltd.
A unique romance film about a woman who feels like she's falling from her
office in skyscraper, and a rope climber who walks on a
rope amidst the forest of buildings like Spiderman. They face each other on
either side of a glass window until they finally meet on the rooftop of
Machunru.
Director Jeon Gye-soo, who has shown a variety of genre skills ranging
from fantasy musicals to romantic comedies, has been releasing his new film for
the first time in a long time. “Vertigo takes
no haste, takes a heavy step, reaches the pinnacle of emotion, then adds a blow
to the final scene, leaving a long aftertaste.” – Excerpt from Korean Cinema Today.
Vertigo was a selected film in the
24th Busan International Film Festival (2019) - Panorama. It was also the
selected feature in the 23th Hawaii International Film Festival (2019) -
Spotlight on Korea.
Thursday, April 2, 7:00 PM @ AMC RIVER EAST 21
PAPER FLOWER (종이꽃) | U.S. Premiere
Introduction
and Q&A with Director Koh Hoon and Actor Ahn Sung-ki
Ah
Sung-ki is the recipient of CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.
Award
ceremony will be held before the feature presentation.
South Korea
| 2019 | Drama | 103 Minutes | In Korean w/ English subtitles
Director:
Koh Hoon
Starring: Ahn Sung-Ki,
Kim Eugene, Kim Hye-Seong, Jang Jae-Hee, Lee Suk, Moon Hee-Kyung, Cho Sun-Mook
Film Source: Mirovision/Studio
Bonanza
Sung-gil, an old, poor funeral director, lives with his sick son and struggles
to take care of him. A new neighbor with
a cherry personality who is a single mom shows up and becomes the caretaker for
Sung-gil’s son. Meanwhile, a local
noodle shop owner, who has been feeding free noodles to the homeless passed
way. The homeless want a public funeral
to be held in the town square but the city is against it. At the end Sung-gil takes the benefactor’s
portrait, and drives his van covered in paper flowers to the square.
Saturday, April 4, 7:00 PM @ Chicago Filmmakers
LIFE FINDS A WAY (普通は走り出す) | North American
Premiere
Introduction
and Q&A with Director Hirobumi Watanabe
Guest
moderator: Mark Schilling
Japan |
2018 | Drama | 110 Minutes | In Japanese w/ English subtitles
Director
and Scriptwriter: Hirobumi Watanabe
Starring: Hirobumi Watanabe, Minori Hagiwara, Marika
Matsumoto, Yako Koga, Chihiro Nagai
Film Source: ARTicle Films
Born out
of every artist's creative crisis, the search for the next topic, Hirobumi
Watanabe presents his latest film, dealing with the question of what his film
should be about. The director stages himself as he idles away his days,
delivering endless monologs during car rides, sleeping on the floor at his
grandma's house, or philosophizing over video games and the FIFA World Cup.
Wednesday, April 8, 7:00 PM @ AMC RIVER EAST 21
SAMURAI MARATHON 1855 (サムライマラソン) | Chicago Premiere
Guest speaker: Mark Schilling
Japan | 2019
| 104 Minutes | Action/Adventure |In Japanese w/ English subtitles
Director:
Bernard Rose
Starring: Takeru
Satoh, Nana Komatsu, Mirai Moriyama, Shota Sometani, Munetaka Aoki, Ryu
Kohata, Yuta Koseki, Danny Huston
Film Source:
Well Go USA Entertainment
Inspired
by a real-life race that is still held annually in Japan, Samurai
Marathon 1855 is a live action pic with a samurai twist. In the
late feudal era of Japan, a young ninja (Satoh) is operating
undercover in the court of an aging Lord during a peaceful era of Japan that is
on the brink of change. After the Lord challenges his lazy samurais to a
punishing marathon to toughen them up, the ninja finds his loyalties put to the
test. Facing impossible odds, this unusual band of characters is running a race
to win or die.
Closing Night
Thursday, April 9, 7:00 PM @ AMC RIVER EAST 21
SHAPE OF RED | North American Premiere
Introduction and Q&A with Director Yukiko
Mishima
Guest moderator: Mark Schilling
Japan | 2020 | Drama | 123 Minutes | In Japanese w/ English subtitlesDirector: Yukiko Mishima
Starring: Kaho, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Tasuku
Emoto, Shotaro Mamiya, Reiko Kataoka, Yoshi Sakou, Kazuyuki Asano, Kimiko Yo
Film Source:
Pony Canyon
Toko Suguri is married and with a lovely
daughter. She doesn't have any major problems in her life until one day, Tokyo
Suguri meets her ex-lover Akihiko Kurata at a friend's wedding. They haven't
seen each other in 10 years. The rekindled love is so intense that Toko needs
to make serious choice!
ABOUT SOPHIA’S CHOICE / ASIAN POP-UP
CINEMA
Asian
Pop-Up Cinema, a semi-annual Asian Film Festival, is the brainchild of Sophia
Wong Boccio, founder of Sophia’s Choice, a Chicago-based 501 C (3)
not-for-profit incorporated in 2015 with the multi-pronged mission of
cultivating an interest in and understanding of Asian cultures via a diverse
offering of Asian films; connecting the Asian film industry with local Chicago
film professionals, educators and students; and promoting Chicago as a
destination for international visitors.
ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA - SEASON TEN SPONSORS
& PARTNERS
At press time, Season Ten is supported in
part by Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, in New York, the ADG Group,
Choose Chicago, Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York, Japan Foundation in
New York and Japan Airlines. Our cultural partners are DCASE/Chicago Film
Office, Chicago Filmmakers, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Chinese-American
Museum Chicago, the Japan American Society of Chicago, Japanese
Culture Center and Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute.
