Chan is Missing

press release: New Restorations

USA | 1982 | DCP | 80 min.

Director: Wayne Wang; Cast: Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi, Laureen Chew

A groundbreaking independent film and Asian American cinema classic, Chan is Missing follows cab driver Jo (Moy) and his nephew Steve (Hayashi) as they search for their missing friend in a meandering journey through the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Though director Wang’s second feature is styled as a noir detective story, it is more focused on revealing the mundane details and comic nuances of Chinese Americans and their everyday lives than solving the titular mystery (LKL). Co-presented with the support of UW Madison’s Asian American Media Showcase.

Screenings mostly take place at 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Once-a-month Sunday afternoon screenings take place at the Chazen Museum of Art, 750 University Avenue. In accord with current UW Madison policies, masks are required for entry to our venues. All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public. Please visit our website for a complete listing of programs and descriptions from September 3 through December 18.

In addition to new copies of several restored movies showcased in our other series, Fall Cinematheque calendar is robust with one-off screenings of new digital preservations of several exciting titles from throughout international cinema history, including Luis Buñuel’s pitch-black satire The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz; Melvin Van Peebles’ produced-in-France debut feature The Story of a Three Day Pass; Jean-Louis Roy’s Swiss Cold War oddity, The Unknown Man of Shandigor; and two featurettes by one of Senegal’s leading cinematic voices, Djibril Diop Mambety.