About the 8th Annual Chinese Film Showcase

April 16 - 20, 25, 2003

Asian Media Access' Eighth Annual Chinese Film Showcase 2003 will feature the Art of Martial Chivalry, an examination of the wu xia pian (kung fu film) progression. Taking the Shaw Brothers' early classics, the Showcase features a retrospective overview of different kung-fu and directing styles. With the recent success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and a 2003 Oscar nomination for director Zhang Yi Mou's Hero, martial arts films have been suddenly projected into the Hollywood limelight, which is a boon for Asian and Asian American visibility in the U.S.

Known in the West as "kung fu" movies, this popular genre is called "wu xia pian" in China. "Wu" means martial or military, "xia" means chivalrous swordsman, and "pian" means film. The collection of wu xia pian is the focus of our eighth annual Chinese Film Showcase, a first major attempt in North America to examine the martial arts film as a central, cultural phenomena and enduring genre of Chinese cinema.

This series will highlight the Shaw Brother's classics that started it all, including works from the famous directors, King Hu and Change Che. These films won't be found anywhere else in metro area. Celestial Films, a Hong Kong based company that recently purchased the Shaw Brothers Library, and make these films available for limited circulation. Don't miss the fun in our upcoming Art of Martial Chivalry series, the first of its kind in the Midwest.

"Heroic Grace: The Chinese Martial Arts Film" touring program has been selected and organized by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and has been made possible with Presenting Sponsorship from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, and additional sponsorship from Cathay Pacific Airways.

©Licensed by Celestial Pictures Ltd. (a company incorporated in Hong Kong SAR). All rights reserved.