This weekend Snow Flower and the Secret Fan opens to a limited engagement in select theaters across the country. Inspired by the bestselling novel by Lisa See, SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN is a timeless portrait of female friendship, set in 19th-Century China and modern day Shanghai. Wayne Wang returns to his roots telling stories about Asians/Asian Americans. Here’s a synopsis of the film:

In 19th-century China, seven-year-old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong – or “old sames” – bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, nu shu, between the folds of a white silk fan.

In a parallel story in present day Shanghai, the laotong’s descendants, Nina and Sophia, struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship in the face of demanding careers, complicated love lives, and a relentlessly evolving Shanghai. Drawing on the lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or risk losing one another forever. What unfolds are two stories, generations apart, but everlasting in their universal notion of love, hope and friendship.

Listen to interviews from director Wayne Wang, producers Wendi Murdoch and Florence Sloan, and author Lisa See below.

Don’t worry if you don’t see it at a theater near you now. The film is slated to open wider in the next few weeks. You can get tickets at Fandango or movietickets.com.

Wayne Wang talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Wendi Murdoch talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Florence Sloan talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Lisa See talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan