Chinese movies to be featured at film festival in Chicago

Three Chinese films will be featured during the "China Week" scheduled from Sept 29 to Oct 3 at the ongoing Asian Pop Up Cinema Film Festival in Chicago, with a special presentation at a drive-in theater.

The three films are Best Director by Zhang Xian, All About ING by Huang Zi and A Touch of Spring by He Xiaodan.

Best Director presents an engaged couple facing off with parents in-laws, old fling and buddies' insatiable favors and demands as they plan to get married. All the key characters want is to embark on an extended honeymoon, but their families are against it. So they are obliged to hold a traditional wedding. A series of struggles over values, lifestyle, and family rituals quickly transforms into a farce.

All About ING, a Grand Jury Prize winner at the FIRST International Film Festival in China, is about a conflicted family coping with the changes that terminal cancer brings on. The film portrays the daily life of a family in a restrained tone and builds a story from the different perspectives of the family members.

A Touch of Spring is about a Chinese woman in a chaotic marriage in Montreal, Canada. Looking for a place where she can truly belong, the protagonist visits her grandfather at her birthplace in south China. The support and inspiration provided by her family and an old lover help her break the impasse in her life.

"'Homecoming' is a popular setup used by many filmmakers. The three protagonists in the films selected for our 'China Week' program are all back home visiting. It's fascinating to see how different each story eventually unfolds," said Sophia Wong Boccio, executive director and founder of the film festival.