Masters

FIRST NIGHT NERVES

It’s the week before opening night of Two Sisters, the anticipated new play starring Yuan Xiuling, returning to acting after a five-year retirement, and He Yuwen, the starlet who supplanted her as the queen of Hong Kong entertainment. As the rivals joust during rehearsals and avoid each other off stage,…

Asia Pop!

EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA

In a dark theater, Sweety collides with Sahil in the kind of classic meet-cute that sparks thousands of Bollywood romances. But Sweety has a secret, one she doesn’t have time to tell Sahil while he’s in the throes of infatuation, and one she can’t tell her conservative Hindi family that…

From the Claws of Darkness: Restoring Philippine Cinema

HIMALA

On the night of an eclipse, Elsa claims to have been visited by the Virgin Mary who vows to heal the sick and the cursed. When the prophecy starts coming true, Elsa becomes a national celebrity. She’s trailed by disciples, but also jealous naysayers, profiteers, and overseas journalists with no…

Asia Pop!

SWING KIDS

In a POW camp teeming with musical dance-offs and political tensions, Roh Ki-soo’s North Korean fervor can barely resist a ragtag team of misfits led by a tap-dancing American soldier. As stakes escalate, genres giddily mash up as the team digs in for the big show, soaring between David Bowie…

Discoveries

THE CROSSING

Like countless other Chinese nationals, Peipei crosses the border from Shenzhen to Hong Kong every day, in her case to attend high school. One night, Peipei is introduced to the world of cross-border smuggling, a high-energy scene that needs somebody exactly like her: an innocent with a school uniform who…

Asia Pop!

SONG LANG

It’s Saigon in the 80s, and Dung is a man sinking. Abandoned at a young age, Dung is a debt-collector, violently collecting on broken promises as his soul slowly depletes. At a traditional folk theater, Dung’s threats lead to a meandering night with the troupe’s star, Linh Phung - hours…

From the Claws of Darkness: Restoring Philippine Cinema

MORAL

Four college friends laugh and smoke like no men are watching, shrugging off the moral strictures that traditionally shape women’s sexual and professional aspirations. Following them across several years, Diaz-Abaya portrays the passing of history as snapshots between friends. The result is a generous, empathetic drama that treasures each conversation…

Asia Pop!

ARUNA & HER PALATE

Epidemiologist Aruna may be sent on a nation-wide work trip to investigate an avian flu outbreak, but really her pathologies of choice are lovesickness and being an incurable foodie. Conveniently, her two best friends--a talented chef and his girlfriend --have similar afflictions too, and the three of them hit the…

Asian American Panorama

GO BACK TO CHINA

Trust fund princess Sasha Li lives on daddy’s bankroll, so any disturbance to the filial order means goodbye credit cards, rent checks, and luxuriating in L.A. as an aspiring fashion designer instead of helping with the family business in China. So, at the end of her financial rope, Sasha acquiesces…

From the Claws of Darkness: Restoring Philippine Cinema

BATCH ’81

The 1981 pledge class of Alpha Kappa Omega undergoes the same hazing as countless batches before them: petty insults, public humiliation, and physical torture. There’s the promise of light at the end of the testosterone-jacked tunnel if they can only set their individuality and consciences aside. But as the 1981…

Discoveries

REZA

Reza struggles to get out of bed because it’s the day of his divorce. In the waiting room for their marital end, Reza and his wife are flirtatious; the electricity has not sizzled. So when he’s reminded that they have three months and ten days to change their minds, Reza…

Asia Pop!

PHOTOGRAPH

Soft-spoken Rafi makes a living snapping photos of posing tourists, including the youthful and educated Miloni. To fend off his grandmother, who’s constantly pressuring him to get married, Rafi nonchalantly mails her the photo of Miloni, his “fiancée.” The plan backfires, sending grandma to the city to meet her future…

MYSTERY KUNG FU THEATER

We could tell you what it is, but then we'd have to make sure they are the last words you ever hear again.

Masters

MEMORIES OF MY BODY

Flipping the conventions of the biopic, MEMORIES OF MY BODY begins with its real-life subject looking straight at the camera, his bulging eyes sensing our anticipation. He is Rianto, a Javanese dancer, and this is the story of his body as a vessel for tradition and pleasure, and – as…

From the Claws of Darkness: Restoring Philippine Cinema

MANILA IN THE CLAWS OF LIGHT

After moving to Manila for work, Julio’s girlfriend Ligaya has seemingly disappeared. And so, he leaves their island village for the big city in search of her. By day, he works at a construction site. By night, he stalks a dark Chinatown block, the shadowy corner where her trail seems…

Discoveries

WAITING FOR SUNSET

Upon their 27th anniversary as a couple, Celso reminds Teresa that he has now surpassed her previous long-term relationship of 26 years. Recognizing Celso’s competitiveness, or maybe it’s his insecurity, all Teresa can do is laugh. But when Teresa’s ex falls severely sick, she sets competition aside and brings him…

Asian American Panorama

Cinemax’s WARRIOR

Based on the writings of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, WARRIOR is a gritty, action-packed crime drama set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. The series follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to San…