Straitlaced optometrist Weichung is finding the typical married life difficult, as his wife, Feng, unfulfilled by her white‐walled office job and spurred on by her mother, pushes him for a second child. Then he bumps into an old friend from his gay past, setting off an unexpected array of dormant emotions. Meanwhile, his sister Mandy flees her sad sack fiancé San‐San, coping via comfort food and the fantastical appearance of a soap opera star on her couch. Arvin Chen’s sophomore feature is a fresh and playful comedy about the brave fronts put forward in the search for a satisfying family life and job. Whimsy is never far from this story, both through the appropriately sappy soundtrack and several dream‐like touches: not just a soap opera star, but one character whose retirement is symbolized by his magical floating away on an umbrella and a breakout karaoke sequence reinforced by the title Shirelles song. Outstanding performances by Richie Ren and singer Mavis Fan as the central married couple help Chen find a true emotional core, especially in the heartrending moment when Feng realizes the truth about her husband’s dalliances, inspiring a charming look at what happens in a traditional society when you seek a big change.

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Like everywhere else in the world, gays and lesbians in Cameroon seek refuge in the city. The two young gay men in this film are crazy about Rihanna and Lady Gaga, who has been a gay icon since her hit song ‘Born this way’. But the tolerance Lady Gaga sings about is just a dream for them. In their country, homosexual relations are subject to punishment of up to five years in prison, and it is almost impossible to come out to your own family. This film describes both the impossible and the possible. The filmmakers’ unobtrusive proximity to their protagonists has yielded conversations in which their interlocutors discuss their longing for a love life they are forbidden to have. Alice Nkom is a lawyer and human rights activist fighting to protect the rights of gays and lesbians. Thanks to her, there is quiet hope and small niches can be discerned where there is something akin to a life not based upon self‐ denial. After Call me Kuchu, which documented the situation for homosexuals in Uganda and won a Teddy Award in 2012, Born This Way makes it clear that the worldwide struggle for tolerance and equality still has a long way to go. NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

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After the death of his popular brother Chaz (Harry Shum, Jr., “Glee”), Nick (Booboo Stewart, TWILIGHT) struggles to carry on. Nick's parents (B.D. Wong and Joan Chen) have their own problems coping with the loss, but Chaz's best friend Randy (Gregg Sulkin, “Wizards of Waverly Place”) takes Nick under his wing. As Chaz's family comes to understand his secret life, they will be forced to reconcile the boy they thought they knew with the man he really was.

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