Cinema Love By Jiaming Tang

For over 30 years, Old Second and Bao Mei have cobbled together a meagre existence in New York City’s Chinatown. They share an unusual past. In rural Fuzhou, before they emigrated, they frequented The Workers’ Cinema: a theatre where gay men cruised for love. While classic war films played, Old Second and his fellow countrymen found intimacy in the privacy of the Workers’ Cinema’s screening rooms. Elsewhere, in the box office, Bao Mei sold movie tickets to closeted men – guarding secrets and finding her own happiness with the projectionist. But when secrets are unveiled, they set in motion a series of haunting events that propel Old Second and Bao Mei towards an uncertain future in America. Spanning three timelines, ‘Cinema Love’ is a tender epic about men and women who find themselves in forbidden and frustrated relationships as they grapple with the past and their unspoken desires.