For the last year, tucked in a corner of Queens, New York, a group of Chinese cinephiles has been playing independent films in their mother tongue. The series Nooks & Crannies (犄角旮旯) has been a regular monthly spot for Chinese moviegoers nostalgic for a view of home, attracting everyone from neighborhood regulars excited to find little-known film gems to friends of friends who tagged along and have been returning ever since.

To Huilin Chen, a filmmaker and the co-founder of Nooks & Crannies, it’s a space—or a screening series—but really it’s a community that holds space for a wide array of on-screen talent from China and films from Chinese-speaking filmmakers in the diaspora.

A little over a year ago, Huilin found herself with an email inbox full of links to movies that her fellow filmmakers shared with her. Among them, she noticed two female filmmakers who, like her, are also from the southern Chinese city of Wenzhou and currently living in New York City. Their films spoke to the culture and memories of the hometown from Huilin’s memories, and this resonance and connection planted a seed for Huilin to share these films with more people.

This became the first curated series of Nooks & Crannies, titled “Memories of Southern China 南方记忆,” featuring a lineup of four filmmakers from Wenzhou. The short films engage in a dialogue of coming of age in Wenzhou, exploring themes like intergenerational tension as a result of rapid economic growth in the city, and the filmmakers’ shared experiences of becoming part of the diaspora abroad amid a wave of globalization. For Chinese viewers in New York, these films offer glimpses of nostalgia for life back home.

From there, Huilin partnered up with Dawei, an avid film critic in his free time, and the two began looking for a screening space. They discovered UnionDocs, a Center for Documentary Art that hosts regular screenings and workshops in the Ridgewood neighborhood, on the border of Queens and Brooklyn. Huilin’s pitch was simple: Nooks & Crannies would bring a new community of Chinese filmmakers and film lovers to UnionDocs, where there is a laid-back and intimate space for gathering.

Beyond the films themselves, Huilin sees Nooks & Crannies as a catalyst for building a community of Chinese-language film lovers in New York City.

“Whenever I program films, whether it’s a feature film or a short collection, I feel like I’m throwing out a discussion prompt or a party topic. And people just pick it up, like before the event, or afterwards in the Q&A, and at the hangouts. They come with their own understanding of the films that I showcase and share their feelings, opinions, and life, really, and that becomes something that I look forward to,” said Huilin.

Tong, an emerging filmmaker and curator from China, currently based in New York City, became a regular at Nooks & Crannies after going to the first screening. Tong was initially drawn to the experience because he also comes from Wenzhou, and now, the weekly screenings have evolved into a chance for him to meet up with friends and introduce new people to the space.

From Tong’s observations, there’s been a growing need for Chinese-language spaces after the pandemic, and people in the diaspora are looking for a shared community to heal together. Film series like Nooks & Crannies also bring forth film narratives about the Chinese experience that are outside of mainstream Hollywood representations of Chinese Americans, featured prominently in blockbuster films like Crazy Rich Asians.

“I think it’s great to have a corner to introduce different narratives, [particularly] where people are having more cultural or transnational experience, as well as what those films can be. I think that’s a really interesting platform to introduce that genre of film,” Tong told RADII.

“What Makes a Home” was Nooks & Crannies’ second event, bringing together three documentary films by first-generation immigrant directors from Singapore, Taipei, and Beijing who are exploring the meaning of home. Huilin also programmed two events, “The Last Year of Darkness” and “Xiaodi,” that feature the LGBTQ experience in China. Nooks & Crannies’ latest event screened the documentary People’s Republic of Desire, which follows a karaoke singer, a talk show host, and a migrant worker as they search for fame, fortune, and human connection in these virtual spaces.

Bringing different narratives that complicate the Chinese experience is a strong motivation for Huilin’s programming approach. For the filmmaker, the films that are part of Nooks & Crannies are the New Wave of the New Wave, but are often overlooked by distributors and exhibitors. While archives for Chinese-language films are abundant, Huilin is interested in today’s filmmakers’ perspectives on the contemporary moment and providing a platform for them to be part of the conversation. The series has hosted filmmakers at different points of their careers, from first-time directors to seasoned veterans like Wang Bing, winner of the Golden Horse Award for best documentary feature.

The films in the Nooks & Crannies series are urgently responding to the world around us, speaking to shared but intimate experiences, as well as the most pressing issues of our time. “Surprisingly, I don’t think they get shown enough in New York City, where there are so many good indie and art house cinemas,” said Huilin. “Maybe we just keep it running. Even if it’s just once every year, we have to bring this stuff out.”

Huilin is frank that she doesn’t have grand plans for Nooks & Crannies yet, but for the foreseeable future, she’s committed to continuing the series and bringing more Chinese films to audiences in New York. The series is steadily building momentum with a strong viewership base. At the last event, Tong met an attendee who traveled all the way from neighboring New Jersey to be part of the conversation at Nooks & Crannies. For Tong, the films and the community alike have inspired his own journey as an emerging Chinese filmmaker living in New York.

“This curation has also really helped me as a filmmaker to learn, to even have a reference, and to get inspired,” said Tong. “I didn’t know at that time that there were so many filmmakers from my hometown, and there were so many stories, so it’s really inspiring for me to think about what I can make.”

Cover image via Instagram/nooksncrannies_nyc.