Rikki Meng is out to save lives with music in the new indie musical drama The Chinatown Diner. The film will star Aileen Wu, who made her feature debut in this summer’s horror hit Alien: Romulus. The Chinatown Diner will be released in 2025.
Wu stars as Rikki Meng, a young woman in Vancouver, British Columbia who wants nothing more than to make music. She falls in love with the titular Chinatown Diner, a local eatery that doubles as an after-hours hip-hop club. Unfortunately, it’s about to be razed by a local developer – who also happens to be Rikki’s father. She and the neighborhood have to band together to save the beloved local institution, even as they deal with local gangsters and a mysterious ghost. The film is framed as a podcast from the near-future, narrated by the hip-hop group The Immortals. It was shot on location in Vancouver’s Chinatown, and is the debut narrative feature for director Lawrence Le Lam. The film’s producers are aiming for it to make its festival debut next year.
Who Else Stars in ‘The Chinatown Diner’?
In addition to Wu, who turned heads with her showy (and gruesome) role in Alien: Romulus, the film boasts an impressive cast of Asian-American and Canadian actors. Olivia Cheng is best known for her roles on Warrior, The Stand, and See. Curtis Lum starred on Supergirl, Siren, and The Night Agent, and recently guested on Fire Country. Andrea Bang starred on the Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience, and can also be seen in A Million Little Things. Veteran actor Tzi Ma has had a long career in TV and movies, making his film debut in 1979’s Cocaine Cowboys with Jack Palance. He has since starred in films like Dante’s Peak, The Farewell, and Mulan, and recently starred in The CW’s reboot of Kung Fu. He can next be seen in Interior Chinatown, Hulu’s metafictional detective miniseries based on Charles Yu‘s novel; it will premiere this fall.
In addition to directing The Chinatown Diner, Le Lam, also edited the film, and co-wrote the script with Alex Love Kink. The film will be produced by Thomas Affolter and Lynne Lee, and executive produced by Paul Armstrong, Erin Mussolum, Liz Levine, and Charles Chang. It was produced by Foreshadow Films and Cheerful Pictures in association with Crazy8s Film Society.
The Chinatown Diner will be released in 2025; no exact release date has yet been announced. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch the new teaser for The Chinatown Diner below.
