Asian Pop-Up Cinema rings in Chinese New Year with free virtual screenings

CHICAGO — Asian Pop-Up Cinema is ringing in the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 12, with free virtual screenings of seven Chinese films.

From Feb 12 to Feb 18, seven films will be available for viewing online anywhere in the United States thanks to its virtual format.

"Being mindful about public safety and (that) we are still under the pandemic, we are staging this year's celebration online," Sophia Wong Boccio, founder and executive director of Asian Pop-Up Cinema, told Xinhua on Thursday.

"These films were chosen to loosely match the traditional activities observed by the Chinese people during the first seven days of the New Year," Boccio added.

Starting on New Year's Day, Feb 12, there will be a film available for free screening each day. The first one is Four Springs by Lu Qingyi, a documentary film featuring Lu's visit to home in a remote town in Southwest China's Guizhou province. Lu introduces a life through his lens: daily life, family visits, funerals, reunions and separation. It presents the attitude of the main characters, the filmmaker and his parents, when faced with irretrievable loss in life. The film has garnered a number of awards since its release.

From day two to day seven, films to be on show are The Island by Huang Bo, Ne Zha by Jiaozi, Last Letter by Shunji Iwai, Forever Young by He Jiong, I Belonged to You by Zhang Yibai, and The Unity of Heroes by Lin Zhenzhao.

Since its inauguration, Asian Pop-Up Cinema has hosted a free film screening at a theater for the Chinese New Year as part of Chicago's citywide celebration, said Boccio. This is the first time that a large selection is offered, and all virtually online.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrations of the Chinese New Year in Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, have mostly turned virtual this year.