CinemaOSMovie · 2026 · 1h 10m

Extraordinary Aliens

Documentary

This feature-length documentary film, Extraordinary Aliens, started from a personal attempt to document a specific context—people who have migrated from China to the U.S. for higher education in arts and lingered in NYC as art makers and workers. It followed the lives of four artist friends: Lu Zhang, Xingze Li, Yulin Gu, Yushu Wang—how they make work, how they make money, what they eat, where they find home. And then it grew into broader stories about why and how we stay, or not stay; why and how we make art, or are not able to; about transformation from privileged students to constrained laborers; about being queer, about what kinship means to us when being away from home and the way money and care weaves through; about memory and emotions, vulnerability and interdependence; and last but not least, about making home meals together and sharing recipes.

Directed byYining Chi

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
1h 10m
Language
EN
Released
October 2, 2026

Watch the

Trailers & teasers

1 video
Documentary Film —Extraordinary Aliens 天外有天也有酸甜苦辣咸| video poster

Documentary Film —Extraordinary Aliens 天外有天也有酸甜苦辣咸| video poster

Featuring

Cast & crew

4 credited
Starring

Lu Zhang

self

Xingze Li

self

Yulin Gu

self

Yushu Wang

self

Creative team
Directed by
Yining Chi

Keep watching

More like this

A New Spirit in Painting: 6 Painters of the 1980's

A New Spirit in Painting: 6 Painters of the 1980's

1984 · Film

Liubov

Liubov

2022 · Film

Fold Crumple Crush: The Art of El Anatsui

Fold Crumple Crush: The Art of El Anatsui

2010 · Film

Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color10.0

Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color

2021 · Film

You Could Have Seen The Mona Lisa

You Could Have Seen The Mona Lisa

2021 · Film

Hospitality

Hospitality

Film

The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci9.0

The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci

2018 · Film

Rafael França: obra como testamento

Rafael França: obra como testamento

2001 · Film

Pop Goes the Easel6.3

Pop Goes the Easel

1962 · Film

Special Flight6.4

Special Flight

2011 · Film

Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock4.8

Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock

2005 · Film

Hinter dem Vorhang: Das Geheimnis Vermeer8.0

Hinter dem Vorhang: Das Geheimnis Vermeer

2021 · Film

Statues Also Die6.9

Statues Also Die

1953 · Film

Beautiful Thing: A Passion for Porcelain

Beautiful Thing: A Passion for Porcelain

2013 · Film

Naked Rose4.2

Naked Rose

2013 · Film

The Lost Portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Culture Show Special

The Lost Portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Culture Show Special

2014 · Film

Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous

Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous

2019 · Film

Seeking The Lost Paradise

Seeking The Lost Paradise

2025 · Film

Picked for you

Recommended movies

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction6.9

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

2013 · Film

Come See Me in the Good Light7.2

Come See Me in the Good Light

2025 · Film

In the Realms of the Unreal7.2

In the Realms of the Unreal

2004 · Film

Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora6.5

Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora

2010 · Film

LA Originals6.8

LA Originals

2020 · Film

My Mom Jayne8.0

My Mom Jayne

2025 · Film

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/207.2

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20

2022 · Film

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad8.5

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad

2013 · Film

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty7.8

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

2000 · Film

Maternal Instinct7.1

Maternal Instinct

2026 · Film

Spider-Man 2: Making the Amazing6.7

Spider-Man 2: Making the Amazing

2004 · Film

Heart of a Dog6.5

Heart of a Dog

2015 · Film

A Toxic Love Story6.4

A Toxic Love Story

2026 · Film

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return6.8

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return

2022 · Film

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear7.0

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear

2022 · Film

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red6.8

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red

2022 · Film

Memory: The Origins of Alien6.4

Memory: The Origins of Alien

2019 · Film

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals7.1

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals

2022 · Film

Italianamerican6.8

Italianamerican

1974 · Film

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema7.5

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema

2022 · Film