9-Man
Feb 13, 2015
(Ursula Liang, 2014, United States)
Seattle premiere!
Director in attendance!
Co-presented with the Seattle Asian American Film Festival, OCA Seattle, and the Wing Luke Museum's upcoming exhibition "Belonging: Before and After the Immigration Act of 1965"
9-Man is an independent feature documentary about an isolated and exceptionally athletic Chinese-American sport that’s much more than a pastime. Since the 1930s, young men have played this gritty streetball game competitively in the alleys and parking lots of Chinatown. At a time when anti-Chinese sentiment and laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act forced Chinese restaurant workers and laundrymen to socialize exclusively amongst themselves, nine-man offered both escape and fraternity for men who were separated from their families in China and facing extreme discrimination and distrust.
Pivoting between oil-spotted Chinatown parking lots and jellyfish-filled banquet scenes, the film captures the spirit of nine-man as players not only battle for a championship but fight to preserve a sport that holds so much history. Director Ursula Liang won the Audience Award & Special Jury Award for Best Director at the 2014 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.