Film News: FREE SCREENING of 'Ritoma' at Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema on Oct. 26th, 2018

Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 25, 2018 - 8:53am

CHICAGO – Season Seven of Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) continues on Friday, October 26th, 2018, with a FREE SCREENING of “Ritoma,” a film about the surprising obsession of Tibetian nomads regarding basketball. The U.S. basketball coach who traveled to Tibet to teach the game, Bill Johnson, will make an appearance at the screening, along with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, who will interview Johnson and moderate an audience Q&A. The film will be in a different location than usual, Studio A of the Joffrey Ballet Tower on 10 East Randolph Street in Chicago’s Loop. For details and tickets (free, but you need to register), click here.

APUC Presents ‘Ritoma’ – with Bill Johnson (center) on October 26th, 2018
Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org

On any given day on the vast Tibetan Plateau, nomads herd their yaks and sheep, and monks recite their mantras. Locals also play one of their favorite sport... basketball. The game is so popular, makeshift courts are found in nearly every village. Next to traditional horseback riding, basketball has become a way for young men to work off their aggression and channel their energy. With the introduction of televised NBA games, the nomads of Ritoma have a new strategy for their court game. And when a proper coach arrives from the United States (Bill Johnson), “slam-dunk” becomes their new mantra. Before long, a new tournament is announced, the first in their region. Can they put together a team that’s good enough to compete? Might they even be able to win? The film is directed by Ruby Yang, and is a co-production between Hong Kong and Tibet.

Season Seven of APUC – curated by founder and veteran film programmer Sophia Wong Boccio – runs through November 14th, 2018, and will highlight films from South Korea, the Philippines, China, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam and Taiwan. The main feature film presentations will occur at the AMC River East 21 in downtown Chicago, with other various locations for special events, in addition to a number of free screenings.

Season Seven of the Asian Pop-Up Cinema continues with a FREE SCREENING of “Ritoma" on October 26th, 2018 (7pm), at Studio A of the Joffrey Ballet Tower on 10 East Randolph Street, Chicago. Coach Bill Johnson will make an appearance on behalf of the film, moderated by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com. For a complete overview Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema, click here.