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Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema returns for its seventh season from 12th September to 14th November with eight film screenings to take place at AMC River East 21 plus an additional nine films screening for free at various venues around the city.
Sept. 12, 7pm: Adulthood
Introduction and Q&A with Director Kim In-seon and Actress Lee Jae-in.
14-year-old Kyung-un meets her uncle Jae-min for the first time at her father’s funeral. Jae-min is, as it turns out, a conman and even cons his bereaved niece out of her inheritance. To get her money back, Kyung-un agrees to pose as Jae-min’s daughter so he can woo his next mark lonely pharmacist Jum-hee, but not everything goes to plan…
Sept. 19, 7pm: Smaller and Smaller Circles
Introduction and Q&A with Director Raya Martin
Raya Martin adapts the novel by F.H. Batacan in which two priests investigate a series of killings targeting young boys in the slums of Manila.
Sept. 25, 6.30pm: Namiya
Free screening at Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center
Three orphans hole up in a disused shop which used to belong to an agony uncle (played by Jacki Chan!) in Han Jie’s adaptation of the Keigo Higashino novel. Review.
Sept. 26, 7pm: Sad Beauty
Introduction and Q&A with Director Bongkod Bencharongkul
Actress Bongkod Bencharongkul steps behind the camera for her second directorial outing in which the friendship of two women is tested by the need to dispose of a body.
Sept.28: Singing with Angry Bird
Free screening at Illinois Institute of Technology. Time TBC.
Korean Kim Jae-chang runs a children’s choir in Pune, India and has earned the nickname “Angry Bird” thanks to his fiery temper. Though the choir has had a positive effect on the children’s lives, some of the parents have yet to see the value and so Angry Bird has decided to train the parents alongside the children for a joint concert.
Oct. 2, 7pm: Concerto of the Bully
Introduction and Q&A with Director Fung Chih-chiang and Art Director Chet Chan
Chow, a singersongwriter popular on the internet, has been captured and is being held against her will on a raft while waiting for her pop-star boyfriend to pay the ransom. Gifted with extremely good aural memory, she decides to offer “musical therapy” to the kidnapper in order to facilitate her escape…
Oct. 3, 7pm: When the Sun Meets the Moon
Astrology fans Sun and Moon meet during a power cut following a freak rainstorm in 1992. They fall in love but Sun is sent away to boarding school and eventually leaves the country. Their love, however, endures…
Oct. 6: Any Way the Wind Blows
Free screening. Time/location TBC
A civil servant accidentally invites the Tokyo Wind Orchestra to Yakushima by mistake having intended to invite a more prestigious organisation. Realising they weren’t wanted, the musicians attempt to leave the island but find themselves trapped by the civil servant who is desperate to cover up her error…
Oct. 24, 7pm: Walking Past the Future
Introduction and Q&A with director Lee Rui-jin and producer Zhang Min
Yang Yao-ting’s parents have been forced to return to their home village in Gansu after losing their jobs in Shenzhen but after 25 years pretty much everything has changed. Hoping to get her family a home in the city, Yang Yao-ting finds herself returning to Gansu as a volunteer in a series of high risk medical tests…
Oct. 26, 2pm: Ritoma
Free screening at Flashpoint Chicago
Ruby Yang’s documentary focuses on the unlikely popularity of basketball among nomadic tribes in Tibet.
Oct. 27, 2pm: Made in Vietnam
Free Screening at Chinese-American Museum of Chicago
Thi Vo left Vietnam for Hong Kong as a child after the war, later emigrating to Canada when he was four years old. Thirty years later he attempts to find his father and discover the secrets of his past.
Nov. 8, 7pm: Dear Ex
Introduction and Q&A with Director Hsu Chih-yen.
Chengxi’s dad has just died. He’d left the family sometime before and despite the best efforts of Chengxi’s mum, Chengxi knew perfectly well that it was to be with another man. The problem now is Chengxi’s dad has left everything to his new partner Jay and Chengxi’s mum is not at all happy about it… Review.
Nov. 3: Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections
Free Screening at Illinois Institute of Technology. Time TBC.
A co-production between the Tokyo International Film Festival and Japan Foundation Asia Center, Asian Three Fold Mirror: Reflections features three short films – one from Japan, one from the Philippines and another from Cambodia.
Shiniuma – Filipino director Brillante Ma Mendoza tells the story of Marcial who is forced to return to the Philippines after years living in Japan.
Pigeon – Isao Yukisada follows a Japanese man living in Penang who raises pigeons on his roof.
Beyond the Bridge – a Japanese man building a bridge in Phnom Penh falls in love with a local girl and vows to marry her, but…
Nov. 11, 1pm: Happy Hour
Free Screening at The Screening Room at the Ambassador Hotel
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s five hour exploration of the everyday lives of a group of middle-aged women living in Kobe.
Nov. 14, 7pm: One Cut of the Dead
Introduction and Q&A with Actor Takayuki Hamatsu
A horror shoot is invaded by real zombies in Shinichiro Ueda’s anarchic comedy! Review.
Full details for all the films are available via Asian Pop-Up Cinema’s official website. You can also keep up with all the latest news by following Asian Pop-up Cinema on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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