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This May, the Academy Museum has several exhibitions, screenings and experiences celebrating Asian cinema. Here’s how to take advantage of its offerings and schedule your day for a perfect visit.
Take A Guided Tour Of The Exhibition Director’s Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho
The new exhibition, Director’s Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho, explores the filmmaker’s career and inspiration behind movies such as Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), Parasite (2019), and more. And the best way to experience it is by taking a guided tour. Join museum educators as they highlight director Bong Joon Ho’s meticulous storyboarding process, the movies that have inspired him, and his ability to deconstruct class and social norms.
Whether set in 1980s Korea or an imagined future, Bong Joon Ho's films explore transnational and universal issues: class disparities, social injustice, the environmental crisis, and political and moral corruption. His protagonists are everyday people — unlikely heroes — who confront the absurdities of modern life.
With unprecedented access to the filmmaker's archive and personal collection, the exhibition features over 100 original objects, including storyboards, research materials, film posters, concept art, creature models, props and on-set photographs.
Tours are free with general admission and are offered Wednesdays at noon, and Sundays at noon and 3 p.m.
Guided tours of Director’s Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho run through May 28. Tours have limited space and are first-come, first-served, so plan to arrive at the tour meeting place 10 minutes before the start of the tour to secure your spot.
Catch The Screening Series Raising the Lantern: A Celebration of Chinese-Language Cinema
Also this month, the series Raising the Lantern: A Celebration of Chinese-Language Cinema, guest programmed by Academy President Janet Yang, spotlights Chinese-language films submitted to the Oscars’ International Feature Film category.
Yang shared her inspiration for Raising the Lantern: “Growing up in New York, the daughter of immigrants, my love of movies did not translate into an obvious career path. Curiosity about my ancestry propelled me to live in China after college. While there, I saw movies made by and about people who looked like me. This glimpse of Chinese cinema provided my portal into the industry.”
“I am indebted to the Chinese movies that inspired me, hence my desire to celebrate a selection of them at our Academy Museum. I am confident these screenings in our beautiful theaters will offer many opportunities to build community through our shared love of cinema.”
Upcoming screenings in the series:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 35mm
Friday, May 9, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | 35mm
David Geffen Theater
Filmmaker Ang Lee and actor Zhang Ziyi in conversation with Academy President Janet Yang. Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee’s internationally successful wuxia (“martial heroes”) film garnered 10 Oscar nominations. Set in 19th-century China, the film follows a warrior (Chow Yun-Fat) who gives his sword to his lover (Michelle Yeoh). When it is stolen, an epic story unfolds, filled with love and duels and captured with stunning cinematography and aerial feats that defy gravity.
Better Days
Thursday, May 22, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | DCP
Ted Mann Theater
While trying to stay focused on her upcoming college entrance exams, Nian (Zhou Dongyu) deals with extreme physical and emotional bullying from her classmates. Small-time criminal Bei (played by Mandopop singer Jackson Yee, in his first leading role) becomes Nian’s protector after she attempts to help him during an encounter with a group of street thugs. As the teens from opposite worlds spend more time together, romantic feelings blossom.
A Simple Life
Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | DCP
Ted Mann Theater
Marking their tenth film collaboration, Andy Lau and Deannie Ip star in director Ann Hui’s heartwarming drama inspired by the personal experience of producer Roger Lee. Told with Hui’s naturalistic directing and touches of humor, Andy Lau plays Roger, an unmarried filmmaker who takes on the role of caregiver after his longtime live-in maid Ah Tao, played by Ip, has a stroke.
Finish your visit with a Korean Sunday supper
Visit the Academy Museum on a Sunday and you can enjoy a special Korean supper at Fanny’s. Named after the legendary movie and vaudeville star Fanny Brice, this contemporary restaurant nestled inside the Academy Museum nods to the enduring charm of Hollywood’s classical era.
Every Sunday, Fanny's features a rotating selection of Korean specials inspired by and in conjunction with Director's Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho. In addition to the restaurant's regular menu, guests can expect to find Executive Chef Jun Bum Oh's rotating selection of traditional Korean dishes, such as ssam junsik, bibimbap, and galbi jjim, along with cinema-inspired craft cocktails.
Dinner service runs until 6:45 p.m. Make sure to call ahead to confirm Sunday supper service, as Fanny’s is occasionally closed for private events.
Reservations can be made via OpenTable and Resy, or by emailing info@fannysla.com.