Children of Invention

Elaine Cheng is a woman with far too much on her plate. An immigrant from Hong Kong, she hustles around Boston from morning till night, trying to keep her act together enough to scrape up some money for herself and her two kids, Raymond and Tina. Her deadbeat ex-husband is in Hong Kong and never sends any cash. She and the kids are kicked out of their apartment and are squatting in a model home. She continually invests in no-risk, get-rich-quick schemes that somehow never pan out. In another attempt to make it big fast, gullible Elaine puts money she doesn't have into a pyramid scheme that involves other immigrants. When Elaine disappears suddenly, Raymond and Tina are left on their own. Pre-teen Raymond does a masterful job of fending for himself and his precocious little sister, but they're up against pretty stiff odds. CHILDREN OF INVENTION highlights a lack of understanding among immigrants in a society they don't fully grasp. The film also reveals the risk for children who must rely on stressed-out adults. (in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin with English subtitles) – B.B.