Asian Pop-Up Cinema: Season 14

By   |  Mar 14, 2022

Asian Pop-Up Cinema: Season 14 will present 28 films in downtown Chicago and the north suburbs, with select films available for online streaming. The joint virtual and in-person festival opens March 13 and runs through April 10.

The diverse lineup celebrates the best of Asian cinema from South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan. Programming highlights include work from female filmmakers and an in-person special guest appearance from ‘Sunday League’ director Yi Sung-Il.

Sunday League

Season 14 opens with the Midwest Premiere of ‘Heaven: To the Land of Happiness’ (AMC Niles 12) from director Im Sang-Soo (‘The Housemaid’, ‘The President’s Last Bang‘). Korean stars Choi Min-Sik (‘Oldboy‘) and Park Hae-Il (‘War of the Arrows‘) lead this crime comedy as two terminally ill men on one last, unexpected journey of their lives. The international premiere of sports comedy ‘Sunday League’ will follow, a heartwarming story of a former rising soccer star who reluctantly coaches a ragtag team of amateur players. Writer/director Yi is the first filmmaker to travel to Chicago for the festival since the global pandemic. Free Admission for all Korean films. RSVP for free tickets is required.

Making its North and South American Continental Premiere, Centerpiece film ‘Arc’ (April 3 at AMC River East) from Japanese writers Kei Ishikawa and Kaori Sawai follows a woman who lives forever with a 30-year old appearance. Based on Hugo Award-winning American author of science fiction and fantasy author Ken Liu’s short story, this haunting sci-fi fantasy examines immortality and the meaning of eternal life.

Coming to You

Female-directed features will be spotlighted this season, with Byun Gyu-Ri’s ‘Coming to You’ (Streaming March 14-20), an eye-opening documentary shot in a society deeply rooted with discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Hong Sung-Eun’s ‘Aloners’ (March 19 at IIT) follows a woman on the edge of an existential crisis, a drama that looks at the phenomenon of young people who live alone and skirt social interaction. Director Momoko Fukuda’s adaptation of Mari Okazaki Manga’s novel ‘Will I Be Single Forever?’ (Streaming March 21-27) centres on an unmarried writer who challenges the definition of “normal” roles of Japanese women. Non’s ‘Ribbon’ (Streaming March 21-27) is set in the Covid-19 pandemic era; a story of a young artist who gradually finds new purpose in her post-lockdown life.

Director Kearan Pang’s story of reinvention ‘Mama’s Affair’ (April 2 at AMC River East 21) features Hong Kong stars Keung To, Teresa Mo and Jer Lau of the wildly popular boy band “Mirror” in their onscreen debut. Ann Hui’s period drama ‘Love After Love’ (Streaming March 28 – April 3) follows a young girl in the colonial-era 1940s who travels from Shanghai to Hong Kong in pursuit of an education. Emily Chan’s romantic drama ‘Madalena’ (Streaming March 28 – April 3) set in Macau, centres on a divorced taxi driver and migrant worker whose lives intersect on the graveyard shift.

Increasing Echo

Select Taiwanese films will have their U.S. premieres (April 9-10 at AMC River East), including Chienn Hsiang’s intense drama ‘Increasing Echo’, Hsu Fu-Hsiang’s action comedy ‘Treat or Trick’ and ‘Grit’, Chen Ta-Pu’s offbeat romance starring this season’s Bright Star Award recipient Kai Ko. The 30-year-old actor and singer, also known as Ko Chen Tung, won Best New Actor at the 48th Golden Horse Awards and the 12th Chinese Film Media Awards for his starring role in his film debut for the film ‘You Are the Apple in My Eye’.

Closing film is Taiwan’s North American Premiere of ‘Waiting For My Cup Of Tea’ (April 10 at AMC River East 21). Author Phoebe Jan Fu-Hua makes her directorial debut with a film adaptation of her best-selling novel of the same name; a love story starring popular boy band artist (SpeXial) and television actor Simon Lien in his feature film debut.

“Our festival continues promoting diversity and this season’s handpicked selection includes many films made at the height of the pandemic,” festival director Sophia Wong Boccio said. “Asian Pop-Up Cinema is proud to celebrate filmmakers’ resilience & creativity in spite of the adverse conditions during different waves of COVID-19 and variants.”

For full details on all of the festival screenings, visit AsianPopUpCinema.org.

 

Phil Mills
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