''Children of Invention'' is an American independent feature film written and directed by Tze Chun. It premiered at the

2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Award winners *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize ...

, screened at more than 50 film festivals, and won 17 festival awards including 8 Grand Jury or Best Narrative Feature prizes. The film was released theatrically in eight U.S. cities beginning February 2010, on Video-on-Demand in June 2010, and on DVD in August 2010.

Plot

The first half of the movie centers around Elaine Cheng (played by Cindy Cheung), a single mother and immigrant living in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

suburbs, and the life she provides for her two children (played by Michael Chen and Crystal Chiu). As a way to cope and entertain themselves, the kids invent things. The mother is drawn to

pyramid schemes A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of product (business), products. As recruiting multiplies, recruitin ...

as a way to get ahead and repeatedly loses money. Eventually her two young children are left to fend for themselves when their mother is arrested by the police. The film is loosely based on Tze Chun's own childhood, as well as his Sundance 2007

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, ''Windowbreaker''.

Production

Though set in Boston, the film shot 20 days in and around

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and 4 days in Boston. The film premiered at Sundance just 10 months after the first draft of the script was completed.

Critical reception

The film was very well received by critics, including ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', ''

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'', ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', '' LA Weekly'', ''

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'', '' Chicago Reader'', '' Film Threat'', and ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. It was named one of the Top 13 Films of 2009 by Hammer to Nail, and one of the best undistributed films of 2009 by several critics including IFC's Alison Willmore. In 2010, the year of its commercial release, it made several more "best films of the year" lists including the list by Turner Classic Movies' blog.

Accolades

The film also won the following 17 festival awards: * Grand Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature -

Independent Film Festival of Boston The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts. History The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent ...

* Grand Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature -

Newport International Film Festival Newport International Film Festival was an annual film festival in Newport, Rhode Island, established in 1998. The Newport Film Festival was generally held the first week in June and featured various international films at several local cinemas. ...

* Grand Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature -

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Ameri ...

* Grand Jury Prize, Best Film -

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival ( SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for ...

* Best Narrative Feature -

* Best Narrative Feature - Ojai-Ventura International Film Festival * Outstanding International Feature - ReelWorld Film Festival * Best of Festival - Roxbury Film Festival * Special Jury Prize, Best Narrative Feature -

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...

* Special Jury Award -

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...

* Special Jury Prize, Acting Ensemble -

Nashville Film Festival The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...

* Special Jury Prize, New Talent to Watch in Acting -

* Special Jury Prize, Emotional Storytelling - Indie Memphis Film Festival * Honorable Mention, Editing -

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...

* George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award - DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival * Puma Emerging Filmmaker Award -

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is ...

* Visionary Award - Austin Asian American Film Festival

Distribution

Tze Chun and the film's producer Mynette Louie were named in

Ted Hope Ted Hope (born 1962) is an American independent film producer based in New York City. He is best known for co-founding the production/sales company Good Machine, where he produced the first films of such notable filmmakers as Ang Lee, Nicole H ...

's list of "21 Great Free Thinkers of Indie Film" for their DIY festival/DVD distribution strategy. The film debuted theatrically in Boston on February 26, 2010, and in New York and Los Angeles on March 12, 2010, followed by additional theatrical engagements in other cities. It was released on Video-on-Demand beginning in June 2010, and on DVD on August 10, 2010.

References

External links

* * * * * *
Sundance Channel Interview with Tze Chun, Cindy Cheung, Michael Chen, and Crystal Chiu

Ningin Interview with Tze Chun

Park City Record article about film's pyramid scheme theme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Children Of Invention 2009 films 2009 drama films Films about Chinese Americans American coming-of-age drama films Films set in Boston Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New York City American independent films 2009 directorial debut films 2000s coming-of-age drama films 2009 independent films Asian-American drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films