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Awkwafina Stars in 'The Farewell' at the Summer KCET Cinema Series on July 2

By Allison Gray
June 25, 2019
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Q&A immediately following with writer/director Lulu Wang.

A funny and uplifting tale based on a true story from the life of filmmaker Lulu Wang. Billi (Awkwafina) is Chinese-born but has grown up in the U.S. When she reluctantly returns to China to see her grandmother who only has a short time to live, she realizes everyone has decided to conceal the truth from her grandmother and focus instead on a family wedding. 

Says Wang: “A theme in a lot of movies about family lies or secrets is that there’s a big catharsis that comes from telling the truth. I wanted to play against this in 'The Farewell.' I didn’t want the film to place judgment on any character or on the family’s decision to hide the truth from their matriarch. Nobody’s a bad guy in this family. To me, it’s really a story about ‘love languages,’ about how we express love in different ways culturally and individually and how that can create a lot of miscommunication in modern families, especially families that find themselves between cultures. But that the things we’re communicating are still based in love — just because people aren’t expressing love in the way you want to hear it or expect to hear it doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Sometimes the most important things that happen in families are things that are unspoken.”

The film screens at 7:00 p.m. at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on KCET’s Must See Movies, will moderate a Q&A immediately following with writer/director Lulu Wang.

"The Farewell" will be released in theatres by A24 Films on July 12, 2019.

The summer season of the KCET Cinema Series is generously sponsored by Deadline.com. The season began on June 4 and runs through July 23. The first six dates will be held at the historic Aero Theatre on June 4, 11, 18, 25, July 2 and 9. The last two dates will be held at the Landmark Theatre on July 16 and 23. Season passes are available online here and individual admissions are available at the door for $30 each. The Aero Theatre is located at 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403 and nearby parking is available. To learn more about the series call 201.747.5238.

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