Dark Matter, the feature film debut of renowned opera and theater director Chen Shi-Zheng, delves into the world of Liu Xing (Chinese for “Shooting Star”), a Chinese science student pursuing a Ph.D. in the United States in the early 1990s. Driven by ambition, yet unable to navigate academic politics, Liu Xing is inexorably pushed to the margins of American life, until he loses his way. The cast includes Liu Ye, Meryl Streep, and Aidan Quinn.

Dark Matter is loosely based on the 1991 University of Iowa school shootings. With the Virginia Tech shootings a year ago, the film’s release was delayed. Controversy has surround the timing of the new release date, which was around the 1 year anniversary of the VA Tech shooting.

Despite the controversy, we need to find better ways to communicate. Both International and American students need to bridge the cultural divide and encourage mutual respect. With the rise in school campus violence in recent years, we need to foster better communication among students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

See the trailer for “Dark Matter” here:

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The film won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize when screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. The award is given each year to a feature film that either focuses on science or technology or depicts a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as the main character.