Wushu Orphan

In the late 90’s, wet behind the ears Lu Youhong takes a job teaching Chinese at a remote martial arts academy. His many students could care less for academics except for Zhang Cuishan, who excels at schoolwork but hates martial arts, and is bullied for it. As Lu tries to form a helpful bond with Zhang, he also develops a crush on the school’s pretty young doctor, while learning inadvertent life lessons from the principal’s quirky son. Huang Huang’s evocative feature debut is a beautifully poetic paean to the bittersweet pangs of growing up at all stages of life. (New York Asian Film Festival)