Polite Society + The Assassin (2015)

Double feature presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival at the Paramount Theatre

Doors: 6:00pm Polite Society: 7:00pm The Assassin: 9:00pm

POLITE SOCIETY
2023, 104min/color, DCP
Directed by: Nida Manzoor
Cast: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, and Nimra Bucha

The feature directorial debut of Nida Manzoor — the creator behind the critically acclaimed British series "We Are Lady Parts" — follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage by attempting the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.

THE ASSASSIN
2015, 106min/color, DCP
Directed by: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Cast: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Zhou Yun, Tsumabuki Satoshi, Ni Dahong, and Mei Yong

Legendary Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for this awe-inspiring take on the traditional wuxia film. In 9th-century China, a young woman is abducted in childhood and raised by a nun who trained her in martial arts. After 13 years of exile, she is returned to the land of her birth as an exceptional assassin, with orders to kill her betrothed husband-to-be. She must confront her parents, her memories, and her long-repressed feelings in a choice to sacrifice the man she loves or break forever with the sacred way of the righteous assassins. Rich with shimmering, breathing texture and punctuated by brief but unforgettable bursts of action, THE ASSASSIN is a martial arts film like none made before it.

Tickets get you into both films, but you are also welcome to attend just one. The second film will screen after a brief intermission. Use code AAAFF5 for $5 off!