Free kung fu movies in Boston!

Films at the Gate, an annual event that brings free outdoor kung fu movies to Boston’s Chinatown, returns for a fourth year this week, from Thursday Aug. 27 to Sunday Aug. 30. The screenings are designed to take audiences back to the days of Chinatown grindhouse theaters, and have been tremendously popular since they were instituted in 2006. The Asian Community Development Corporation, a Boston nonprofit, is the presenting organization. ACDC’s youth group, A-VOYCE, provides volunteer workers for the event, and any donations by attendees and sponsors go toward funding A-VOYCE activities.

This year, the film line-up includes Jet Li’s FIST OF LEGEND (and thanks to Bey Logan of Dragon Dynasty for screening permission) and Stephen Chow’s SHAOLIN SOCCER. (See the whole schedule here.)Be sure to get there early, pick up some Chinese take-out food, and enjoy pre-movie kung fu performances by the Wah Lum Kung Fu Athletic Association and the Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts Association. On Friday and Sunday, Films at the Gate will also present a couple of short martial arts films, the award-winning FIVE MINUTES FLAT and AMERICAN CHOP SUEY, by Rhode Island-based filmmaker Nathan A. Quattrini, who will introduce the shorts. The Sunday screening will also include a demo by the actors from the films.

The screenings will take place in a vacant lot on Hudson St. in Chinatown (see website for details) except for the Saturday show, which will be in the new Greenway park next to the Chinatown Gate. A limited supply of chairs will be provided, but it’s a good idea to bring your own. See you all at the movies!

FIVE MINUTES FLAT (2009), directed by Nathan Quattrini.