CHICAGO, IL – (September 28, 2022) Asian Pop-Up Cinema: Season 15 concludes with an exclusive world premiere and first-ever programming partnerships with emerging short film platform Sorry Not Sorry (SNS) and Facets. The in-person festival runs through
November 6 with two closing night films, awards presentations, and Screenings with the Stars: Season 15 Finale, an inaugural reception benefitting the expansion of Asian Pop-Up Cinema. Tickets are on sale now at: www.asianpopupcinema.org/s15-finale
Making its world premiere, DELIVERANCE tells a story of a fractured family of four brothers and one sister confronting haunting memories of their mother's passing. Lead actress Summer Chan (Showbiz Spy, Tape) will receive the third Bright Star Award of this season and will be honored in person at the October 29, 4:30 pm screening at AMC Newcity 14. Director Kelvin Shum, screenwriter Kyle Shum, and producer Charlie Wong are also scheduled to appear for the introduction and post-film Q&A moderated by Hollywood Chicago's Pat McDonald.
Centerpiece film CHUN TAE-IL: A FLAME THAT LIVES ON is an emotionally-charged animated film from Hong Jun-pyo, honoring an activist who became a beacon of light and a symbol of hope for workers' rights. A post-film discussion will be led by Columbia College Chicago professor Ron Falzone – an award-winning screenwriter and instructor at Second City Film School. (Sunday, October 2, 2:30 pm at AMC Niles 12).
The first SNS official selection will showcase a total of 16 short films, highlighting the varying Asian lived experiences from around the globe. Supporting SNS's mission of telling diverse and authentic Asian stories, the lineup is split into four sections: (Dis)placing Time, Familiar Strangers, Embodied Womanhood and Asian Queer Phenomenologies, respectively follow the spatiotemporal flows of memories and experiences, and the bodies and feelings of Asian womanhood, motherhood, and queerhood.
“By unapologetically telling our own stories, we're shaking up the imposed labels of ‘Asianness,'” SNS Founder and Curator Brandy Wang said. “The collaboration with APUC provides an important and timely opportunity to present these powerful and multi-faceted shorts to a broader audience who share the care and passion for Asian cinema.” The shorts will be available for free throughout the U.S. from October 3-9 on the festival's Eventive platform. (https://watch.eventive.org/apuc15)
In a new partnership with Facets, the festival will feature a Halloween Marathon series event highlighting the best of Asian horror cinema. The curated selection of old and new horror selections from Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea include The Wailing, Ichi the Killer, The Mimic,
and Peninsula and culminate with the Midwest premieres of two new mystery/thrillers TALES FROM THE OCCULT and MISSING. There will also be a special encore presentation of Juno Mak's RIGOR MORTIS, a 2013 horror film that stars a veteran cast in a story of a dark, chaotic
and supernatural public housing tenement (September 29 – October 30 at Facets).
“I am very pleased to announce these two new programs,” Sophia Wong Boccio, Founder & Executive Director said of the first-ever programming partnerships. “SNS is a group of young Asian film advocates from New York, and Facets is Chicago-based old establishment championing films appreciation that we can both learn from and lean on.”
Taiwanese animation and comic art will be showcased at the Illinois Institute of Technology, with critically acclaimed films including CHEN UEN, CITY OF LOST THINGS, and HELLO! TAPIR. The lineup also includes the U.S. Premiere of the 2019 Golden Horse Film Project selection SHIRO: HERO OF HEROES, presented by the Childhood Comics Corporation. Based on the legendary Taiwanese comic book series “JhugeShiro,” the animated family feature tells the story of a born leader who fights a demon society in order to protect his kingdom. (Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23, 2:30pm and 4:30pm at Tower Auditorium at IIT).
Closing Night exclusive presentations include Terry Ng's PRETTY HEART, starring Bright Star Award recipient Jennifer Yu who will receive her recognition in person at the November 6 screening at the AMC New City 14. Yu appears in two more films throughout the Season 15
lineup, including FAR FAR AWAY and the festival's final screening, SEPTET: THE STORY OF HONG KONG: seven short stories by seven legendary filmmakers, namely Ann Hui, Johnnie To, Patrick Tam, the late Ringo Lam, Sammo Hung, Tsui Hark, and Yuen Woo-ping. The 8-films Hong Kong Cinema Showcase is sponsored in part by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in New York.
Festivities include an inaugural celebration Screenings with the Stars: Season 15 Finale, and a star-studded reception at MacGuffins Bar and Lounge. Special guests include actress Jennifer Yu (PRETTY HEART), co-director Yeung Chiu-hoi (THE FIRST GIRL I LOVED), director Kelvin Shum (DELIVERANCE), screenwriter Kyle Shum (DELIVERANCE), director Amos Why and producer Teresa Kwong (FAR FAR AWAY). The closing night event benefits the growth and expansion of the festival, with net proceeds directly supporting the hiring of APUC's first full-time employee. (Sunday, November 6, 4:30-6:00 pm at the MacGuffins Bar & Lounge in the AMC Newcity 14). The reception event is supported in part by BMO Harris Bank.
ASIAN POP-UP CINEMA SEASON 15 MAIN SPONSORS
Asian Pop-Up Cinema's semi-annual film festival is partially supported by a new two-year CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; and continuing support by Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in New York, Crown Family Philanthropies, Korean Foundation, MacArthur funds for Culture, Equity and the Arts at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Chicago Film Office, Illinois Humanities, with funds from the State of Illinois American Rescue Plan Act, ADG Group, BMO Harris Bank, Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Chicago, Office of Community Affairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Choose Chicago, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago, Japan Information Center and the Japan Foundation.
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.
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