Friday, April 16, 10 am at the Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St.

"A fine feature debut... while the politics are there, you might be too busy choking back tears to notice." - Manohla Dargis, New York Times

Sundance Feature and Winner of 15 Film Festival Awards

Children of Invention

Related Links: Official Site | View Trailer | Watch a Q&A with director Tze Chun | Read "Tze Chun, Children of Invention Pyramid Schemes, Herbalife and Collaboration" in Indiewire

"Inspired by the filmmaker's own childhood experiences, the film follows Raymond (Chen) and Tina (Cheu), two first generation Chinese kids growing up in Boston with Elaine (Cheung), their overworked, illegal immigrant single mom. After Elaine's savings vanish in a vitamin sales pyramid scheme, the family loses their home... With her estranged husband slacking on child support payments, Elaine gets involved in another pyramid scheme and is eventually arrested. Afraid that Tina and Raymond will be taken away if she tells the police she's left two young children home alone, Elaine says nothing, and the kids are left to fend for themselves.

[...] Invention has a sense of adventure. Primary colors abound, not least in the film's several dips into subtle daydream magical realism, as Tina and Raymond respond to their trials and tribulations with a kind of make-do play. As the hopelessness of the family's economic situation becomes more and more clear and the dread mounts, it becomes equally apparent how disconnected the kids are from their reality. The result is an edge-of-your-seat family drama, pushed beyond the constraints of its micro-budget by two heartbreaking child actor performances." - Karina Longworth, Spout

"An absolute gem of a film. This is one that people should see." - Jean Oppenheimer, KPCC

"I loved this movie. I can't remember when I have loved a movie quite as much as this movie." - Claudia Puig, USA Today

Screeners available

Download photos + press kit HERE