channelAPA.com met Children of Invention director/writer Tze Chun a couple weeks ago at the 2009 SFIAAFF. When we met him, he recently left the Sundance film festival, where his film premiered, and didn’t even have a trailer for his film yet. Looks like Tze has cranked out the trailer now. (See it below). Here’s the synopsis for Children of Invention :

After being evicted from their home, the Cheng family finds that times are tighter than ever. Hardworking single mom and recent Boston transplant Elaine tries desperately to find the means to support her young children, Raymond and Tina. They squat in a model apartment in an unfinished building, but try to maintain a normal life. Elaine juggles a number of jobs, including working for a questionable pyramid scheme. Meanwhile, Raymond and Tina become latch-key kids and find amusement in building childish inventions. When Elaine doesn’t return home one night, things take a turn for the worse. Nobody knows the kids are home alone, and they are left to fend for themselves. As the days pass, Raymond realizes he needs to come up with a plan to take care of his little sister.

We’ve seen Children of Invention and it’s great. (It won a Special Jury Award at the 2009 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.) The film focuses on pyramid schemes aka Multi level marketing (MLM) as it relates to the immigrant mentality. Having sat through MLM pitches in the past, Tze Chun does a great job capturing the tactics used and the get rich quick mentality superbly. You really feel for the pressure on the mother and struggles of the kids. If you wanna see the Children of Invention, check the website to find out where it is playing here. Make sure you buy tickets early. This film will most likely sell out at a festival.

Q&A with Children of Invention director/writer Tze Chun

Also see part 2 of our interview with Tze Chun

Children of Invention Trailer