Exciting news, fans of film and/or China: we’ll be showing a Chinese documentary film every Monday in August, many of which are rare and controversial, covering a range of issues such as prostitution, fortune telling, disability, art, filmmaking, and so many more. This Monday we begin with There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing (北京的风很大), in which a Ju Anqi-led gonzo camera crew randomly ask people on the street, “Do you think Beijing’s wind is strong?” The answers are at turn surprising, funny, insightful, and pointed. (more…)

Sunday marks the Bookworm return of the Wisemann Brass Ensemble, whose exciting program includes music from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, Michael Jackson, Disney movies, and the Beatles. The ensemble is known for their entertaining and comical performances that include audience participation, games, and even a pink trumpet and hose pipe tuba! (more…)

You may be familiar with Hayao Miyazaki and his modern classics — Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, etc. — but Japanese animation doesn’t stop with him. To wrap up Animation Month at The Bookworm, we’ll be showing the brilliant, bizarre, perspective-altering Millennium Actress, from the late, great master of anime, Satoshi Kon. (more…)

Ian Mote, who has set foot in every province in China, will share stories of his adventures across the country, from getting drunk with miners in Inner Mongolia to dining at the fanciest restaurants in Shanghai. His book, From Chicken Feet To Crystal Baths: An Englishman’s Travels Throughout China, is about an expat adjusting to life in Asia — and never ceasing to be amazed. (more…)

Our Chinese Monday Movie series resumes tonight with Black Coal, Thin Ice — winner of the Golden Bear at last year’s Berlin film festival — which follows an ex-cop chasing a serial killer in northern China. The movie is in Chinese, with English subtitles. Be sure to say for the twist ending…
(more…)

Storytelling is an art as old as speaking, and it’s a monthly event at The Bookworm. What’s it all about? We posed that question, among others, to host Amy Daml (pictured), who gives us the low-down. (more…)

Bukaopu, a “concert variety salon,” is saluting the bikini this Saturday at The Bookworm. Below, please find organizer Kemin Zhang’s notice, and pay particular attention to: “Due to the special nature of the event, those who wear a bikini to the show will be allowed to come in free of charge!” Also, there may or may not be truth to the rumor that “the beautiful Bookworm events manager Julia from Russia will be wearing her bikini to the show as well.” (more…)

Bukaopu is a salon/variety show featuring performers of various backgrounds and disciplines, hosted by the one and only Kemin Zhang (who you might know from Broadway and concerts). These events have become a hub for artists to test their new material in an environment of uninhibited artistic experimentation. (more…)

Can nine ragdolls save the world? Find out this Friday when we show 9, the Tim Burton-produced animated claymation about a postapocalyptic, human-less world in which nine stitched-up dolls must journey through a barren wasteland to find vestiges of our soul.  (more…)

You can help underprivileged children in Mongolia at a free event tomorrow (Wednesday) at The Bookworm. Meet the creators of Pickatale, a digital publisher of children’s books, and learn more about their 150Alice project, which seeks to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by bringing together 150 artists to create a fully illustrated 300-page hardcover book. All proceeds will go towards educating children in Mongolia. (more…)