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Chinatown Cha-Cha
女人世界

Saturday, September 20, 2025 @ 1:30PM - 4:00PM (Doors at 1PM)
Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizens’ Association- 111 Riverfront Ave SW
FREE ADMISSION | Registration requiredPresented with the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS)
Supported by Calgary Culture Days

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We’re excited to be part of Calgary Culture Days 2025!Join us for a screening of Chinatown Cha-Cha 女人世界, a documentary about 92-year-old previous nightclub dancer Coby Yee, who decides to get back on stage again after joining the senior dance troupe Grant Avenue Follies. Together they go on a tour for the last time, bridging once isolated Chinese communities in the US, Cuba and China.Held at the CCECA in the heart of Calgary's Chinatown, the event will also include a performance by the Happy 50+ Association's senior dance group and a virtual Q&A with director Luka Yuanyuan Wang, moderated by Lyn Cadence, Executive Director of the THIRD ACTion Film Festival.

ABOUT THE VENUE:The Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizens’ Association (CCECA) is a non-profit social service organization located in the heart of Calgary's Chinatown. It has been serving Chinese seniors citywide since 1985. It provides a great variety of services and programs including social services, community support, health services and more. Its current membership exceeds 2,000 members. For more info, go to cceca.caAccessibility: The whole building has wheelchair accessible facilities; handibus can use the loading zone at the rear of the building.ABOUT HAPPY 50+ ASSOCIATION:We are a group of experienced professional health care providers in Calgary. As first-generation immigrants from China, we have a profound understanding of the special challenges and barriers facing senior immigrants and would use our expertise to help them access resources for their retirement. We founded a non-profit organization “Happy 50+ Association” in 2018. We have been running many free activities for Chinese immigrants over 50 living in Calgary and any Calgarian who wants to plan his/her retirement life in advance. Since 2018, approximately 8000 Chinese Calgarians have attended over 20 in-person seminars organized by Happy 50+ Association. For more info, go to happy50.caABOUT ALBERTA MEDIA ARTS ALLIANCE SOCIETY (AMAAS):AMAAS exists to advocate, educate, and celebrate the media arts in Alberta. We serve media artists and organizations through advocacy efforts, development opportunities and connecting media artists and media art organizations across the province. For more info, go to amaas.caABOUT CALGARY CULTURE DAYS:Calgary Culture Days is a month-long celebration of local arts, culture and community spirit, happening across the city from September 1 to 30. Let’s celebrate what makes Calgary... Calgary! Learn more about Calgary Culture Days at calgary.ca/CultureDays.

Directed by Luka Yuanyuan Yang | 2024 | 85 minutesAt the remarkable age of 92, Coby Yee, a former starlet and owner of the illustrious "Forbidden City Nightclub," reclaimed her place in the spotlight with the senior dance troupe, Grant Avenue Follies. Led by Cynthia Yee, the ensemble brings to life the luminous nightclub era of San Francisco's Chinatown, simultaneously shattering the conventional image of aging Asian women.Their transnational tour across the US, Cuba, and China unfurls an exploration of diasporic Chinese entertainment and a profound understanding of their own Chinese American identities. In Havana, their co-performance with local Chinese Opera singers sparked a vibrant renaissance in the city's dwindling Chinese community.An emotive journey back to her father's homeland in China gave Coby a chance to reflect on familial memories and observe the startling transformation of urban landscapes.The film stands as a poignant chronicle of Coby's final journey before her passing at 93, preserving her indomitable spirit. Meanwhile, the Grant Avenue Follies dance on, carrying the torch of their shared heritage.For more info, go to chinatownchacha.com

About the Director:Luka Yuanyuan Yang (b. 1989, Beijing) is a visual artist and filmmaker working across documentary film, photography, installation, and performance. Through weaving documentary and archival materials, she explores themes of identity, migration, and memory, challenging conventional historical narratives and amplifying overlooked voices.Her debut feature documentary "Chinatown Cha-Cha" premiered in the Official Selection at Pingyao International Film Festival and Hawaii International Film Festival in 2024, followed by a nationwide theatrical release in China (Douban Rating 8.4/10). The film received support from The Gotham, Doc Edge, Beijing International Film Festival, CNEX, Shanyi International Women's Film Festival, and Aranya Waves Film Festival. Her short films have been featured in The New Yorker and screened at New Orleans Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, Asian American International Film Festival, and Women Make Waves Taiwan.Yang is a recipient of the BAZAAR Art Awards - Cross Cultural Creator of the Year (2024), BVLGARI Avrora Award (2023), Art Power 100 (2019), and Rencontres d'Arles Author Book Award (2015). Her works are in the collections of Power Station of Art, Kadist Art Foundation and ENIX Museum of Migration. She has received fellowships from the Asian Cultural Council and Asymmetry Art Foundation.For more info, go to lukayangworks.com

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THE TEAM

We are a team of volunteers from all different backgrounds, that came together through our love of Calgary's Chinatown and films that speak to the Chinese diaspora community. The team consists of:Vicki Van Chau, Carrie Yap, Wilson Wong, Alice Lam, Lyndi Woo

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