[Just a reminder that this is going on! I was hoping to have my review of So Young up by now to act as a reminder, but I have been at the AMC Empire all day and it’s made writing kind of hard. Am still there, actually, and will continue to be for two more films. So come join me! And if you go to one of the Donnie Yen films tomorrow, you may see a ghost of Flixist past, Hubert Vigilla (RIP)!]
See? I told you there were more festivals for New Yorkers to get excited for. The latest is the 4th annual New York Chinese Film Festival, which will be taking place from Tuesday, November 5th through the 7th at various locations around New York City. The festival will be showing seven films over the three days (with the bulk of the showings taking place on Wednesday). It’s a pretty good lineup, with a mixture of new films, new-ish films, and Donnie Yen classics.
And like all good film festivals, special guests from each of the films will be attending the festival, including Zhao Wei, Miriam Yeung, and Donnie Yen.
More information about the festival and the films can be found below, and tickets can be purchased here or here.
4TH New York Chinese Film Festival
November 5,6,7, 2013
Acclaimed Actress Zhao Wei’s Directorial Debut SO YOUNG
Set As Opening Night At Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall
Film Screenings At Empire 25
Closing Night And Awards at Capitale
Vicky Zhao Wei, Miriam Yeung, Donnie Yen, Larry Yang, Wesley Wong
Among Talent & Filmmakers To Attend
Join in the celebration as the New York Chinese Film Festival returns for its 4th annual outing of presenting the best in Chinese cinema. The 2013 NYCFF, presented by the Chinese American Arts Council (CAAC) and the Chinese Movie Channel, CCTV-6, will screen 7 new films from Hong Kong & Mainland China over the 3-day event, and will introduce such celebrated filmmakers and performers as Vicky Zhao Wei, Miriam Yeung, Xiubo Wu and Donnie Yen to New York audiences.
The NYCFF Opening Night film, Vicky Zhao Wei’s box-office smash So Young will be presented on Tuesday, November 5th at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The remaining films will be presented on Wednesday, November 6th and on Thursday, November 7th at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street and will be followed by Q&As with talent in attendance. The Closing Night Awards Gala will be held on November 7th, at one of New York’s most fashionable venues, Capitale.
The NYCFF is a non-profit organization whose aim is to promote Chinese art and culture through film, while gaining exposure and insight from an American audience. Selected films are chosen to participate because they provoke conversation, compassion, peace and friendship amongst our two great nations, as well as to help Americans gain a better understanding of Chinese Cinema. In essence the NYCFF is the foundation for having constructed a great working relationship between the United States and China.
The NYCFF is produced by Qi Jia, Alan Chow, Kaijie Wang and Kate Lin, and is presented by the highly successful Chinese American Arts Council (CAAC) and the Chinese Movie Channel, CCTV-6. The culture of Chinese Cinema has transformed itself in the past one hundred years becoming a major influential player in International Cinema. Established in 1975, The Chinese American Arts Council has gone above and beyond, expanding the existence and the culture of the Chinese Community within the city of New York. The CAAC’s main objective is to maintain Chinese Heritage both domestically and internationally in the greater New York area. Being the entertainment capital of the world, there is no better place than New York to present and display the latest in Chinese filming to America.
Some of the CAAC’s year-round activities include outdoor and indoor performances of modern and traditional Chinese theater, dance, vocal and instrumental concerts. In addition, the CAAC also presents annual exhibitions of Asian American Art. The Council takes their cause a step further by providing assistance to Artists and Organizations in support of their programs. Chinese American Arts Council is supported in part by funds from the National Endowment of the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affair.
The China Movie Channel Programming Center was established in 1995, with its first flagship channel, CCTV-6 having launched on January 1st, 1996. To date it is the only national movie channel in China that reaches over 930 million people. CCTV-6 has consistently ranked at the top in annual ratings and market share of all Chinese TV channels. Over the past ten years, new television programs have been introduced, such as the China Home Cinema and the China Movie Channel, which stretches across Asia, Europe and North America.
The NYCFF has built a platform for internationally promoting Chinese films and with such an impressive film lineup and star-studded group attending, this year is sure to be NYCFF’s best festival to date.
“A great director opens our eyes; a great film opens our minds.” – The New York Chinese Film Festival Foundation
4TH New York Chinese Film Festival Films:
So Young (Opening Night Presentation at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, 8:00pm) – Directed by Vicky Zhao Wei. So Young is the debut directorial effort of the renowned Chinese actress Vicky Zhao Wei. It is based on the best-selling novel “To Our Youth that is Fading Away” by Xin YiwuIt, adapted by Li Qiang (“The Postmodern Life of My Aunt”) and produced by Stanley Kwan. It is a film about the love, joy, and pain of a group of young students in their school days and their harsh confrontation with the realities and a lament on the loss of youth to adulthood. Attending the Festival will be Director Zhao Wei.
Sorry, I Love You (Presented at the AMC Empire 25. Wednesday, November 6 at 11:00am) – Directed by Larry Yang. With only six months to live, Walker decides to leave Vancouver to go back to China, where he was born and adopted and go look for his biological parents and twin sister. With the aid of Encai, a girl he once helped, he tries to find his family but they start falling in love with each other very quickly. With only six months to live, Walker will have to make important decisions to make his loved one’s life complete. Attending the Festival will be Director Larry Yang, Actor Wesley Wong and Producer Hang Hon.
Finding Mr. Right (Presented at the AMC Empire 25, Wednesday, November 6 at 2:00pm) – Directed by Xue Xiaolu (“Ocean Heaven”). City girl Jiajia is traveling to Seattle to give birth to the son who’s going to help her win over her rich, married boyfriend. Armed with his unlimited credit card and the singular goal of bringing a little U.S. citizen back to Beijing, Jiajia knows how to play this game of modern love. But when Jiajia arrives in Seattle, nothing goes right: she’s stuck sharing a small house with two other pregnant ladies, she has trouble reaching her boyfriend on the phone, and eventually, even the credit card stops working. To top that off, the only person willing to spend time with her is her driver Frank. Frank is the opposite of everything she ever wanted in a man… or could he be exactly the kind of guy she really needs. Attending the Festival will be Actor Wu Xiubo.
Love Undercover (Presented at the AMC Empire 25, Wednesday, November 6 at 4:30pm) – Directed by Joe Ma. Fong (Miriam Yeung), fresh out of the Police Training School is only allowed to work on some trivial missions in the police station after graduation. Fortunately, she is soon assigned to work undercover as a waitress. She needs to get close enough to a gangster’s son so that she can plant a microphone at a table where the gangsters make their deals. Complications arise when she finds herself falling for him. Attending the Festival will be Actress Miriam Yeung.
Love in the Buff (Presented at the AMC Empire 25, Wednesday, November 6 at 7:30pm) – Directed by Pang Ho-Cheung. In this sequel to the hit movie Love in a Puff, former lovers Jimmy and Cherie start a new life in Beijing after they ended their relationship. Despite meeting someone else, they can’t seem to forget each other and are torn between fidelity towards their new partners and following their hearts. Attending the Festival will be Actress Miriam Yeung
IP Man (Presented at the AMC Empire 25, Thursday, November 7 at 11:00am) – Directed by Wilson Yip. This is the story of IP Man, a legendary Wing Chun Kung Fu master set in Foshan, China in the 1930s. IP Man becomes a hero and creates a craze for Wing Chun. During the Japanese invasion, General Miura, a fanatical practitioner in martial arts, demands that IP Man teach Wing Chun martial arts to the Japanese Army, but IP Man refuses and takes up Miura’s challenge. A fierce fight is going to start…. Attending the Festival will be Actor Donnie Yen.
Special ID (Presented at the AMC Empire 25, Thursday, November 7 at 2:00pm) – Directed by Clarence Fok Yiu-leung. A cop and his team of comrades go undercover in one of China’s most ruthless underworld organizations to stop a gang leader, only to put themselves in great danger after being exposed one by one. Attending the Festival will be Actor Donnie Yen.
NYCFF Film Schedule
November 5, Opening Night, Alice Tully Hall
8:00pm – So Young
November 6, AMC Empire 25
11:00am – Sorry, I Love You
2:00pm – Finding Mr. Right
4:30pm – Love Undercover
7:30pm – Love in the Buff
November 7, AMC Empire 25
11:00am – IP Man
2:00pm – Special ID
November 7, Capitale
4:00-9:00pm, Closing Night and Awards
For additional information, schedule, and to purchase tickets to all the above films (including Opening Night) please visit the Chinese American Arts Council site at www.caacarts.org or the New York Chinese Film Festival site at www.nycff.org
