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CHICAGO – The Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) of Chicago wishes everyone a HAPPY CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR … the Year of the Ox. To celebrate the day, how about a FREE Chinese Film Series, and an interview via Zoom with the President of APUC, Colin Hara. Mr. Hara has been part of the Governing Board of the cinema series since 2018, and is in his third year as president.

CHICAGO – Fact or fiction is a current debate in news programming, especially as people naturally digest “the news” that makes them comfortable. A new five-episode web series created by filmmaker Ashton Swinford, “Miss Information,” is a satire-oriented show that seeks to entertain and educate viewers on the bias, fake news and bot infiltration that litters social media.

CHICAGO – How does a film festival still go on while the pandemic continues? Sophia Wong Boccio, the Founder and Curator of Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC), has found a way … have Opening Night (and other dates) at the Drive In.

CHICAGO – At the point HollywoodChicago.com last talked to author Lorraine Evanoff, it was during the summer reading season, during the time her latest novel “Pinot Noir” – the second novel featuring financial sleuth Louise Moscow – was winning awards and appearing on best seller lists.

CHICAGO – When the world stopped in March during the pandemic quarantine, there was an online kids-and-play concept invented by two sisters that really took off. “Paper People Play” is a deceptively simple website that evolves the paper doll form, bringing it to 21st Century children. Kristin and Brooke Broadwell were the co-creators, and the story of the concept is fascinating.

CHICAGO – “The Girl Who Wore Freedom,” a documentary created by Christian Taylor, is a film that speaks not only of the celebration of France’s appreciation for the Allies liberation of the country in World War II (beginning with D-Day), but also of the dogged determination of filmmaker Taylor to finish the project and place it in into festival consideration.

CHICAGO – The determining factor of a creative work’s shelf life can simply be its excellence. Writer, director and actor Clare Cooney released her first short film “Runner” in 2017, and the positive reaction was immediate. After a number of film festivals and awards, Cooney will release the film nationwide on the YouTube channel “Omeleto” on April 23rd, 2019. To access the film, click here.

CHICAGO – Asian American musician, model, actress, influencer, producer and entrepreneur Jennifer Zhang, based in Chicago, is making waves in the U.S. and global music scene with the premiere of her latest single and video, “Flying High.” The song is East meets West, with Chinese instruments and sounds blending with an energetic contemporary beat.

CHICAGO – Not many web series start out as music videos, but the new online (YouTube) drama “Deadbeat 2” was just that. Created, written and directed by Danny Froze, the made-in-Chicago story recently premiered episodes five and six in the series, which features actor Kiwaun Stoutmire in the lead role of Ronnie.

CHICAGO – We’ve all been there. Depending on what school structure you lived through, everyone had issues in “Eighth Grade.” Writer/director Bo Burnham puts those universal issues in a modern context (social media, online video), and portrays them through a girl struggling to belong while navigating the choppy waters of adolescence. It’s difficult, awkward and representative.