Last year we rung in the New Year with Better Luck Tomorrow. This year we are delighted to celebrate the 2024 Lunar New Year with a special screening of Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club, adapted from the novel of the same name by Amy Tan. 

Following four first-generation mother-daughter relationships, The Joy Luck Club weaves stories of culture clash, intergenerational trauma, the sacrifices of immigration & the love that binds these families through it all. It’s a story that continues to resonate strongly, even two decades later. 

Released at the Telluride Film Festival & Toronto International Film Festival, The Joy Luck Club was the first film in over 30 years since 1961’s Flower Drum Circle to feature a majority Asian cast to tell a modern American story. Despite its critical & commercial success, it would be another 25 years until another all-Asian cast would grace our big screens with Crazy Rich Asians.

The community joined us on 18 February 2024 at Vue Piccadilly for this celebratory screening to ring in the New Year. 

Introducing this landmark film, we had the luminous Alice Hewkin giving the keynote introduction. Alice is a Chinese born British actress she is currently starring in Netflix’s thrilling, fun & action packed The Brothers’ Sun, also featuring the queen herself, Michelle Yeoh.

As part of celebrating The Joy Luck Club, MilkTea commissioned film journalist Katie Smith-Wong to consider what this seminal film means to her as the film enters its third decade. We also commissioned artist Daryl Rainbow to create a new illustration to commemorate its 30th anniversary. You can see the anniversary art & essay here.

You can see highlights from our very very special Lunar New Year screening here.