ONCE UPON A BITE

Director Chen Xiaoqing, whose A Bite of China took the nation by storm in 2012,returns with a second food documentary series that expands the subject matter to delicacies around the world. From the sausages in Guangdong to white asparagus in France, shrimp noodles in Suzhou to barbecued lamb liver in North Africa,the documentary draws parallels between the world’s diverse food cultures and examines the relationship between human and cuisine. With outstanding cinematography and narration, this mouthwatering culinary world tour is now in its second season and available to view on Tencent Video for free.

SISTERHOOD

An entry in the “We Are One” online international film festival, which took place from May 29 to June 7, Sisterhood was shot in 2016 by Macau director Tracy Choi.Sei (Gigi Leung) lives a seemingly uneventful life in Taiwan with her husband,despite an alcohol problem. After hearing of the death of her former best friend Ling, she decides to return home to Macau. The journey brings back old memories of the 1990s, before the former Portuguese colony was transformed by casinos and hotels, when the young Sei (Fish Liew) and Ling (Jennifer Yu) worked together as masseuses and formed a close bond that was eventually torn apart by a misunderstanding. Back in the present day, Sei discovers a secret that was kept by Ling and suppressed in her own memory.

ASH

A dead body, with its throat slit open, is found in a theater. Though the stern detective Chen Weikun (Nie Yuan) suspects the victim’s stepson Xu Feng (Xin Peng), he cannot make an arrest without evidence, and is forced to watch Xu leave town. A decade later, a mysterious Dr. Wang Dong (Luo Jin), who startlingly resembles a bystander at the crime scene, appears on Chen’s radar, as does a dissolute Xu. With sumptuous visuals and sound effects, Ash was tailor-made for the big screen, but had to premiere on Youku.com in late June due to cinema closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

HAPPY TROUBLE

In this grassroots rural black comedy, Jia Youquan (Yao Anlian) takes out a bank loan to open a village restaurant. To attract customers, he attends and gives out cash gifts at a series of family banquets, weddings, and birthday parties. Soon,his balance runs low, his wife ends up in the hospital, he takes out another loan, and hatches a plot to avoid the debt collector—by faking his wife’s death.After the funeral feast, though, things get out of hand. Available on iQiyi, the film satirizes the custom of elaborate gift-giving still prevalent in many parts of China. - LIU JUE (劉玨)