Chinas

Set in working-class barrio Usera, the location of Madrid’s vibrant Chinatown, this bittersweet drama offers a fascinating insight into the immigrant experience in Spain from the perspective of three girls: nine-year-old Xiang, adopted by white Spanish parents; fellow nine-year-old Lucía/Yun, a fully integrated second generation immigrant; and her teenage sister Claudia/Rou, who’s resisting strict Chinese family traditions. While all three share the toxic experience of casual racism, each has her own struggles, dreams and desires. Xiang silently suffers as she swings from total alienation from her heritage to a painful confrontation with her birth mother; in delightful reveries Lucía fantasises about a birthday party at Burger King, well beyond her means; Claudia navigates the dangerous waters of teenage sexuality, tragically obsessed with a local bad boy.

The screening on Mon 15 Apr will be followed by a Q&A with writer-director Arantxa Echevarría.