Chen Shi-Zheng's DARK MATTER

Chen Shi-Zheng's DARK MATTER is playing in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.

DARK MATTER , starring Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn & Meryl Streep and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, is currently playing in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.

DARK MATTER , the feature film directorial debut of renowned opera and theater director Chen Shi-Zheng, delves into the world of Chinese students living on their own in the United States as they pursue a dream of higher education, and the unique challenges they face adapting to the, at times cut-throat, American academic system.

DARK MATTER , was the winner of The Alfred P. Sloan Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, which awards films for focusing on science as a theme.

Set in the early 1990s, DARK MATTER , stars Liu Ye as Liu Xing (Chinese for "shooting star"), a graduate student at an American university pursuing his Ph.D. in "dark matter," an unseen substance that shapes the universe. Driven to compete against the highest echelon in his field, Liu Xing also tries to fit in with his community. At first, everything seems to go his way: he meets other Chinese students, sharing a cheap apartment together; flirts with a pretty American girl who works at a tea shop; and, with the help of a local church, is befriended by Joanna Silver (Meryl Streep), a wealthy patron of the university. When the head of his department, Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn), chooses him as his protg, Liu Xing is convinced only hard work stands between him and a bright future. That is, until, his unique theories challenge Reiser's own established work in the field. Excited that he could surpass his mentor, Liu Xing turns a deaf ear when he's advised to "pay his dues" and not jeopardize the relationship. Instead, he clings to the idea that the American scientific community is a free market of ideas and American society is wide open to hard-working immigrants. But the choices he makes to get his work accepted leads to a downward spiral, both in terms of his standing at the university and within himself. Too proud to accept help from Joanna, and unwilling to return home to his parents, Liu Xing becomes a ghost-like presence at the university. Left alone with his shattered dreams, he explodes in a final act of violence.

DARK MATTER , has a screenplay by Billy Shebar and a story by Chen Shi-Zheng and Billy Shebar. The film was financed by American Sterling Productions and produced by Janet Yang of American Sterling Productions and Mary Salter and Andrea Miller of Saltmill LLC. Kirk DAmico and Linda Chiu are executive producers.

NEW YORK-Village East Cinema
181 - 189 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
212-529-6799
www.villageeastcinema.com

BOSTON-Kendall Cinema
One Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 499-1996

LOS ANGELES - Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatres
8000 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
www.laemmle.com for tickets
PASADENA -Laemmle's Playhouse
7673 E. Colorado Boulevard
Pasadena, CA
www.laemmle.com
IRVINE/ORANGE COUNTY
Edwards Town Center Cinemas
64245 Campus Drive
Irvine, CA