The Asian Pop-Up Cinema festival brought drama, comedy and adventure to Evanston during a double screening at One Rotary Center on Wednesday afternoon.
The festival began March 20 and runs until April 12. At Wednesday’s event, the organization showed two Japanese films: “I Am a Monk,” centered on a young monk who discovers what it means to be a spiritual leader, and “Survival Family,” set in a global power blackout where a family navigates survival without technology.
Asian Pop-Up Cinema aims to “fill a void” in the film culture of the greater Chicago area by platforming Asian filmmakers, according to Sophia Wong Boccio, the festival’s founder and executive director. Since its inception in 2015, the organization has shown more than 300 films.
“I thought it’s very useful for the Chicago audience to see the East and the West, how people are, where they can find the common humanity, common side and where they find the differences,” Boccio said. “And the more they learn from each other, they will make the world better.”
This year, some of the participating films are competing for prizes including a feature film award, an animated feature award, a best short film award and the Francis Kwong Memorial Award for emerging directors.
The current lineup includes 36 films from across Asia, which are being screened throughout the greater Chicago area.
On March 22, organizers brought Japanese film “Seaside Serendipity” to AMC Evanston 12. The film’s director attended the screening through a grant from the Evanston Arts Council.
Asian Pop-Up Cinema worked closely with Evanston Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander American and the Rotary Club to facilitate the Wednesday screenings.
Melissa Raman Molitor, the founding director of Evanston ASPA, said her organization has aimed to serve Evanston’s Asian American community through events like the screening.
“We bring together artists who are telling stories, representing all over the Asian American diaspora through visual arts and now here through film,” Raman said.
In April 2024, Asian Pop-Up Cinema also partnered with NU’s Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and The Block Museum to hold a screening on campus.
Boccio said the group has held several events in Evanston because of its close proximity to Japanese communities in northern Illinois and its international audience, partially coming from NU’s student body.
For Gina Clark, a program specialist at Rotary International, the festival was a reflection of the Rotary Club’s commitment to “bringing people together across cultures, perspectives and experiences.”
“Film offers a unique way to connect stories beyond our own, and to better understand the people and communities that make up our global network,” Clark said.
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