A murder mystery unravels on the snowy sidewalks of West Side Avenue when a Filipino teen is found shot dead. Many chase the American Dream, but at what cost? 

Catch this epic five-hour long Filipino drama set and filmed in Jersey City in the late 1990s. Directed by the award-winning director Lav Diaz, Batang West Side (English title West Side Avenue, 5 hours and 15 minutes, 2001) is considered a cinematic masterpiece. 

 "Diaz sets the narrative in Jersey City, where much of the film was shot (save for the powerful dream sequences), and where crime, severed familial ties, and the insidious influence of shabu (caffeinated crystal meth) serve as connective links to the long history of colonial oppression in his home country. ... Diaz provokes a critique of the profit and entertainment-driven film industry, enacting a radical form of auteurism entirely his own." (From the Toronto International Film Festival)

The film screening concludes Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month and celebrates the 25th anniversary of the film’s production.