Thursday, March 2, 2023, 6:00 P.M. - 8 P.M. EST 

Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013

Free Admission | Suggested Donation: $10

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MOCA Cinema: Spotlight on Women Filmmakers is proud to present Kit Zauhar's debut feature, Actual People. As the writer-director-star of Actual People, Zauhar "established herself as a bold talent on both sides of camera" (IndieWire). 

Actual People follows the protagonist Riley (Kit Zahuar) as she embarks on a coming-of-age journey, right before she graduates from college. In this low-budget, semi-autobiographical work filled with raw emotions, Zauhar's whimsical use of the handheld camera and exploration of a character whom she considers unlikable offers a great insight to the life of Gen Z. All while demonstrating the continuation of the legacy of indie filmmaking, one that often reminds us of the New Wave cinema.

Please join us for the screening of Actual People on Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 P.M. EST, followed by the Q & A session with Kit Zauhar. 

ACTUAL PEOPLE

Kit Zauhar | 2021 | 84 minutes | Feature

Riley, an aimless young woman in her final week of college, goes to great lengths to win the affections of a boy from her hometown of Philadelphia. In the process, she ends up having to confront anxieties about her love life, family, and future. Actual People, Kit Zauhar’s directorial debut shows the great, bold talent in filmmaking, and was nominated for Best Emerging Director and for Best New Film at international film festivals. Actual People is also picked up by the esteemed global curated film streaming platform Mubi.

SPECIAL EVENT: Dialogue on Filmmaking

Friday, March 3, 7:00 P.M. - 8 P.M. EST

Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street

Filmmakers Christine Choy and Violet Du Feng will share experiences of documentary making, followed by a dialogue with emerging filmmakers Kit Zauhar, Shu-Ying Chung, Rachel Lin, and Nancy Ma on the creative and the ins and outs of indie filmmaking.

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Who Killed Vincent Chin?

Christine Choy & Renne Tajima- Peña | 1987 | 87 minutes | Documentary

An important reminder of a past that is still relevant in today’s America, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, a surgical documentary directed by Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, recounts the murder of a Chinese-American automotive engineer, Vincent Chin, in a racially motivated hate crime followed by the troubling outcome of the judicial system. Who Killed Vincent Chin? was nominated for Best Documentary by the Academy Awards in 1989.

The Architects of Camellia

Christine Choy | 2019 | 43 minutes | Documentary

As the whole nation industrializes, the camellia oil-making tradition in Xin County, Henan Province, China, undergoes the transition into automation. Life in this rural town also begins to shift. The Architects of Camellia follows a Chinese American Alex Zou’s journey back to his father’s hometown to connect with his roots while quietly witnessing the impact of the transformation in rising China.

Hidden Letters

Violet Du Feng | 2022 | 86 minutes | Documentary

Carrying on the tradition of ?? n?sh?, an ancient secrete language developed by women in southern China, two Chinese women try to balance their lives as independent women in modern China while confronting the traditional identity that defines and oppresses them. Hidden Letters brilliantly investigates what it means to be a woman in today’s China with an empathetic approach. Hidden Letters was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature of the Academy Awards in 2023, and has won numerous awards in film festivals across the world.

Actual People

Kit Zauhar | 2021 | 84 minutes | Feature

Riley, an aimless young woman in her final week of college, goes to great lengths to win the affection of a boy from her hometown of Philadelphia. In the process, she ends up having to confront anxieties about her love life, family, and future. Actual People, Kit Zauhar’s directorial debut shows the great, bold talent in filmmaking, and was nominated for Best Emerging Director and for Best New Film at international film festivals. Actual People is also picked up by the esteemed global curated film streaming platform Mubi.

Touch

Lulu Wang | 2015 | 15 mins | Featured Short

An elderly Chinese immigrant's cultural ignorance gets him in irreversible trouble in a public restroom. Despite his harmless intentions, he struggles with his son and the legal system to make the context of his behavior understood. Like her feature film, Farewell, Lulu Wang shows great compassion through her lens on the subject of cultural clashes in this earlier short.

Great Listener

Rachel Lin & Tristan Nash | 2022 | 5 minutes | Featured Short

An Asian American actress finds herself auditioning for the role of a great listener, she is forced to reckon with the real-life consequences of this pervasive typecasting. Producer and Writer Rachel Lin captures the Asian American community’s struggles in today’s society through a very intimate story.

Found

Reena Dutt | 2022 | 10 mins | Featured Short

Tabitha is stuck between two worlds. When the Artistic Director of her theatre company tokenizes her for his Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiative, she faces her reality of living in two skins as a Korean adoptee.

Removable

Shu-Ying Chung | 2022 | 15 mins | Featured Short

Removable offers a particularly empathetic look into an Asian immigrant’s struggles with guilt after calling the police on her abusive husband, which results in his deportation. Removable has won 17 awards, including Best Short, Best Director, and Best Actress at film festivals across the world.

MOCA CINEMA SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Who Killed Vincent Chin?

Reserve

THURSDAY, MARCH 2

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Actual People

7:30 PM - 8:00 PM: Q&A with Filmmaker Kit Zauhar 

Reserve

FRIDAY, MARCH 3

4:00 PM – 4:45 PM: The Architects of Camellia

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FRIDAY, MARCH 3

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM: Hidden Letters

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FRIDAY, MARCH 3

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Special Event – Dialogue on Filmmaking

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SATURDAY, MARCH 4

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Actual People

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SATURDAY, MARCH 4

5:45 PM – 6:30 PM: Shorts Collection (Touch/Great Listener/Found/Removable)

6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Q&A with Filmmakers Shu-Ying Chung and Rachel Lin

Reserve

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8

6:00 PM – 6:45 PM: The Architects of Camellia

Reserve

THURSDAY, MARCH 9

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Shorts Collection (Touch/Great Listener/Found/Removable)

Reserve

FRIDAY, MARCH 10

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM: Who Killed Vincent Chin?

Reserve

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