PROGRAM AND SCREENING

BACCS Cinema curates Asian cinema and the conversations it moves.

Rosemead
BACCS Cinema Specials / Filmmaker Q&A Screening

Rosemead

Based on a true story, ROSEMEAD centers on an ailing woman who uncovers a terrifying secret: her teenage son is consumed by violent impulses. Join us for this special screening for a chance to win a signed poster from Lucy Liu.

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Resurrection
BACCS Cinema Specials / Director Bi Gan in-person Q&A Screening

Resurrection

Experience Bi Gan’s stunning sci-fi mystery Resurrection on the big screen, a masterpiece of pure cinematic dreamscape. We are honored to present an exclusive live discussion with director Bi Gan following the screening.

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Jiang Nengjie Documentary Series
BACCS Cinema Documentary Series / Of Dust and Hope: The Rural Chronicles / Director in-person QA

Jiang Nengjie Documentary Series

Known for his Miners, Groom, Pneumoconiosis, independent filmmaker Jiang Nengjie captures the raw soul of rural China. Join BACCS for a documentary series and live Q&A discussions to sit down with a storyteller who walks the long road alongside those he films.

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Lovers
BACCS Cinema Documentary Series / Director in-person Q&A Screening

Lovers

From Shanghai to Beijing, artist Wu Laobai takes three red trucks on a high-stakes journey to expose the hidden reality of 'conversion therapy' in China. Join us for a screening and a live conversation with the director.

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Mistress Dispeller
BACCS Cinema Specials / Director Q&A Screening

Mistress Dispeller

“Mistress Dispeller is a marvel: elegantly constructed, ethically created, and thought-provokingly humane.” —Mashable

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Hong Kong Cinema Classics
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / New 4K Restorations

Hong Kong Cinema Classics

A surge of operatic flair and Hollywood grit: experience the 1980s Hong Kong action explosion through a series of stunning new restorations, from John Woo’s bullet ballet to Tsui Hark’s stylistic epics.

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Little Buddha
BACCS Cinema Specials / New 4K Restoration

Little Buddha

Drawing on Buddhist history to weave a metaphor about the tragedy of Tibetans in exile, Little Buddha is Bernardo Bertolucci’s stunning follow-up to The Sheltering Sky. Featuring Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha.

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Human vs. AI Tech Film Festival
BACCS Cinema Specials / Guest Panel in Silicon Valley AI Film Festival

Human vs. AI Tech Film Festival

A Silicon Valley experiment in storytelling. Explore the friction and fusion of human creativity and AI through exclusive screenings, immersive tech demos, and a deep-dive panel with BACCS curators in conversation with image/video AI experts.

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Made in Ethiopia
BACCS Cinema Documentary Series / Director Q&A Screening

Made in Ethiopia

When a massive Chinese industrial park lands in rural Ethiopia, three women's fates intertwine at the new frontier of globalization.

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Caught by the Tides & Blue Sun Palace
BACCS Cinema Specials / Across Generations: Double Feature

Caught by the Tides & Blue Sun Palace

This May, BACCS Cinema presents a cinematic dialogue across generations. From the sweeping odyssey of Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides to the poignant debut of Constance Tsang’s Blue Sun Palace, we explore the shifting landscapes of love, longing, and the Chinese experience.

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How to Have an American Baby
BACCS Cinema Specials / Director Q&A Screening

How to Have an American Baby

The untold story of the "birth tourism" shadow economy. This gripping documentary traces the clandestine journey from Beijing to Los Angeles, where U.S. citizenship is a commodity. Live Q&A: Director Leslie Tai & Moderator Valerie Soe.

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The Forsaken Times: A Journey Through Lou Ye's Cinema
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / Lou Ye Retrospective

The Forsaken Times: A Journey Through Lou Ye's Cinema

Filmmaker Lou Ye stands as one of the boldest voices of China’s Sixth Generation filmmakers—a master of longing, identity, and the restless search for meaning in a shifting world. For this retrospective, BACCS Cinema presents five seminal works that traverse different eras, capturing the raw heartbeat of a changing China.

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This Woman
BACCS Cinema Specials

This Woman

The Chinese artist and filmmaker Alan Zhang, in her first feature, dramatizes a married woman's struggle for freedom amid financial and emotional obstacles. Watch a personal introduction from Director Alan Zhang on the making of her feature debut.

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Like a Rolling Stone
BACCS Cinema Specials

Like a Rolling Stone

At the age of 50, Li Hong finally made up her mind to leave. She took a brave step and started a self-driving tour to live her own life. Adapted from a true, inspiring story in China.

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July Rhapsody
BACCS Cinema Specials / New 4K Restoration

July Rhapsody

Anita Mui and Jacky Cheung star in Ann Hui’s deeply affecting exploration of broken ties and lingering ghosts of the past. July Rhapsody is a masterclass in character-driven storytelling, where classical poetry meets the raw complexities of modern love.

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Only The River Flows
BACCS Cinema Specials / Director Q&A Preview Screening

Only The River Flows

In 1990s small-town China, a woman’s body washes up in the local river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, is tasked with heading up the investigation. An obvious perp leads to a hasty arrest, though the mystery lingers in Ma Zhe’s mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here?

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Admissions Granted
BACCS Cinema Documentary Series / Director Q&A Screening

Admissions Granted

In a landmark Supreme Court case pitting Asian American plaintiffs against Harvard University, activists on both sides wrestle with hard truths about race and equality, as the fate of affirmative action hangs in the balance.

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Taipei Tales: The Cinema of Edward Yang
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / Co-presented with Roxie

Taipei Tales: The Cinema of Edward Yang

Embark on a cinematic journey into the heart of urban life and human existence with Taipei Tales: The Cinema of Edward Yang, a retrospective celebrating the profound legacy of one of Taiwan’s most visionary filmmakers.

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The Central Plains
BACCS Cinema Documentary Series / The Central Plains QA Screening

The Central Plains

Many farmers in the poor villages of Henan Province are infected with AIDS through blood sales. This film takes a closer look at how these people are coping with life, how officials are dealing with these facts, and how volunteers are helping villagers who have contracted the disease.

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Eat Bitter
BACCS Cinema Documentary Series

Eat Bitter

A documentary follows two workers from different continents whose lives intersect through the same river, the same risk, and the same hope for tomorrow.

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Youth (Spring) & The Last Emperor
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / Double Feature: In the Current of Time

Youth (Spring) & The Last Emperor

A documentary of working-class youth and a historical epic of imperial collapse meet in a powerful dialogue about identity, power, and survival within changing times.

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Jia Zhangke Retrospective
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / A Journey Through Time

Jia Zhangke Retrospective

Co-presented by Roxie Theater, this vital four-film, decades-spanning survey traces the expanding social consciousness of world-renowned indie auteur Jia Zhangke, a leading light of China’s “Sixth Generation” underground directors.

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Farewell My Concubine
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / 30th Anniversary 4K Restoration

Farewell My Concubine

Leslie Cheung stepped on the global stage with Chen Kaige's lush and provocative Peking Opera saga, the winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and one of the most critically acclaimed Chinese films of all time.

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A New Old Play
BACCS Cinema Specials

A New Old Play

“A New Old Play is a sumptuous intermingling of personal and national history. Centering on a Sichuan Opera performer, it transforms China's modern pivots into a surreal, vaudevillian theater where folklore and epic converge.”

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Pema Tseden Tribute
BACCS Cinema Featured Series / Double Feature

Pema Tseden Tribute

A tribute to Pema Tseden, the visionary pioneer of the Tibetan New Wave: a journey through the stark realism and dreamlike landscapes of a master storyteller.

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The First Slam Dunk - Cheer Screening Event
BACCS Cinema Specials / Special Cheering Screening

The First Slam Dunk - Cheer Screening Event

“BACCS Cinema presents North America’s first-ever Cheer Screening for The First Slam Dunk. Experience the high-octane energy of this anime classic—the highest-grossing basketball film of all time—like never before."

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Kaili Blues
BACCS Cinema Specials / Kaili Blues

Kaili Blues

“A fever dream of poetry and time. Bi Gan’s hypnotic masterpiece redefines the limits of cinematic storytelling.”

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Journey to the West
BACCS Cinema Presents / North American Premiere

Journey to the West

A Cosmic Odyssey of Lost Souls and China’s Sci-Fi Renaissance.” Debut in San Francisco presented by BACCS Cinema.

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