Your Ultimate Guide to Chinese Film Screenings for August in NYC

At the beginning of each month, CFI posts a comprehensive list of Chinese film screenings in NYC. To help you better understand China through cinema, we include films that are made by Chinese filmmakers, set in China, or tell Chinese stories. Here is what to see in August.

 

Theatrical Release

Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (Tsui Hark, 132 min, 2018)

07/27 at AMC Empire 25

A bold and exciting new entry into the smash hit wuxia fantasy franchise from master action director Tsui Hark, DETECTIVE DEE: THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS sees the detective embroiled in his most difficult case yet. Accused of wrongdoing by Empress Wu, Detective Dee must defend himself against this formidable foe, all while investigating a crime wave that has engulfed the city, marked by strange and seemingly supernatural occurrences.

The Island (Huang Bo, 134 min, 2018)

08/10 at AMC

In this offbeat dramedy from Huang Bo, news of a meteorite bound to strike the earth doesn’t have much effect on Ma Jin’s everyday life; he still gets up and goes to a job where he spends his time daydreaming of a romance with his colleague Shanshan, and of winning the lottery. But when this cataclysmic event occurs during a team-building trip, he finds himself shipwrecked on an island with an odd group of coworkers… and the winning lottery ticket in his pocket.

Europe Raiders (Jingle Ma, 101 min, 2018)

08/17 at AMC Empire 25

Tony Chiu-Wai Leung reprises his role as a detective who wears a jacket full of neat toys and a mean umbrella. This time around, Leung is joined by Kris Wu (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), Tiffany Tang, Du Juan, and last but not least, Thai martial arts sensation JeeJa Yanin . It the third film in the Jingle Ma-directed franchise, following Tokyo Raiders (2000) and Seoul Raiders (2006).

Film Festival

Asian American International Film Festival 2018

8 Minutes Ahead (Ben Hoskyn, 72 min, 2018)

08/01 at Village East Cinema

Workaholic, success-obsessed Zhou Li spent decades building a shipping company from the ground up—and now, at the end of his life, he wonders whether it all really amounted to anything. Q&A with director.

Gay Hollywood Dad (Quentin Lee, 95 min, 2018)

08/02 at Village East Cinema

Gay Hollywood Dad follows writer/director, Quentin Lee, as he navigates being a single father and being an independent filmmaker. Laser focused on not only being a father but being a storyteller, we follow Quentin as he continues to film movies, making it work, even writing his child into the story.Q&A with director.

Minding The Gap (Bing Liu, 93 min, 2018)

First-time filmmaker Bing Liu’s documentary Minding the Gap is a coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown hit hard by decades of recession. Sundance 2018, won jury award for “Break Through Film.”Q&A with director.

For Izzy (Alex Chu, 84 min, 2018)

08/03 at Asia Society

For Izzy tells the story of what happens after a retired divorcee, Anna and her lesbian daughter Dede, who is struggling with addiction, move next door to a lonely widowed father Peter and his autistic adult daughter Laura. Q&A with director.

A Still from short film Guo Mie, ‘Family Affair’ program

Shorts Program: Family Affairs (109 min)

08/01 at Village East Cinema

Family is never just who you’re related to. It’s the drama, the tears, the hugs and the fights. The following films run the gamut of what it means to deal with family.

Shorts Program: From Three Feet Tall (117 min)

08/02 at Village East Cinema

Do you remember what it was like to be a child? The following films ask us to see through the perspective of children facing very adult situations, and who yet react with a strength and heart that many grown-ups still aspire to have.

Shorts Program: Loud and Proud (105 min)

08/03 at Asian Society

The LGBTQIA+ experience for Asian and Asian-Americans often feels hidden and unheard. The following films showcase just a small portion of the many different stories and identities within the Asian queer community.

Shorts Program: Beat’em to the Punch (81 min)

From the bizarre to the mundane, these funny films manage to find the levity in life. Take a breather with us as we delve into the humor around us.

 

Special Screening

Chinese Couplets (Felicia Lowe, 56 min, 2015)

07/28 at Chatham Square Library

Part memoir, part history, part investigation, Chinese Couplets spans two centuries, three countries, and four generations of women in this intimate story that reveals the impact of America’s Chinese Exclusion Acts on journalist-filmmaker Felicia Lowe’s family.