Pengyous in New York: we are excited to share with you an opportunity to attend a viewing of Miao Wang’s new film, MAINELAND, which will premier at the AMC Empire 25 in Times Square on March 16-17 and 19-22!

Miao Wang is an award-winning filmmaker whose creative and cinematic documentaries inspire cultural understanding and a humanist perspective of the world. In MAINELAND, she examines the intersection between US and China and coming of age in this poignant and visually stunning new film.

Watch the trailer and learn more below.

About the Film

Filmed over three years in China and the U.S., MAINELAND is the winner of the SXSW Film Festival special jury prize. It is a multi-layered coming-of-age tale that follows two affluent and cosmopolitan teenagers as they settle into a boarding school in blue-collar rural Maine. Part of the enormous wave of “parachute students” from China enrolling in U.S. private schools, bubbly, fun-loving Stella and introspective Harry come seeking a Western-style education, escape from the dreaded Chinese college entrance exam, and the promise of a Hollywood-style U.S. high school experience. In one sleepy Maine town, worlds collide as students fresh from China learn to navigate the muddy waters of this microcosmic global village. It also received the New York Time’s Critic’s Pick – A.O. Scott calls the film “astute and absorbing… ‘Maineland’ takes up a large and complicated set of topics — the global economy, the shifting relations between East and West, the commodification of American education — and addresses them with understated delicacy … I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a sequel.”

The film’s creator, Miao Wang hopes the film can play an important role in humanizing the enormous wave of Chinese students studying abroad in the U.S. She grew up in Beijing and moved to the U.S. as a 12-year-old, without speaking a word of English, and entered into an American high school. Because of those experiences, her filmmaking is focused on turning a humanistic lens on personal stories within the context of China’s contemporary transformation, both within its own borders and beyond. Her hope is that the film will inspire greater cross-cultural understanding, and will reach a wide audience not only to those interested in China, but across the educational platform.

The New York screening will be followed by special guest speakers and a panel. This is sure to be a fascinating and engaging event for anyone interested in U.S.-China bridge building, and we applaud Ms. Wang for her fabulous and inspiring film. For those pengyous interested in attending, find more details here: MAINELAND Upcoming Screenings.

For more information, be sure to check out the team’s website and facebook page as well!