Chinatown Cowboy
From the Archives
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Drama, Western, Short Films, 12-Dec-2025
A cowboy is hired to bring in a thief but runs into complications. “Chinatown Cowboy,” directed by Jaafar Alnabi, is a Cantonese Neo-Noir Western shot on 16mm film that follows an allusive wrangler in the big city. The cowboy works bounties, and someone named The Wolf hires him to bring in a money-owing fella named Ming. As it turns out, Ming has debts with more than just one. Bursts of multi-color bokeh fills the background as he struts through the evening streets of lower Manhattan. In its gun-slinging finale, Alnabi dials into genre, animating a burst of cinematic homage. -JM. Written and Directed: Jaafar Alnabi. Producer: Conor Hibbler. DOP: Sawyer Gaunt. EP: Sam Jacobs, Eric Ives, Jerry Sun. Casting: Violette Trotter. Production Designer - Arian Behpour. Props: Sophia Alaniz. 1st AC: Even Wilkens. 2nd Unit Camera: Michael Cong. Gaffer: David Kong. Sound Mixing: Matt Fishman. Cast, Toluwalase Ojo, Jason Lai, Dominque Wong, Aleeza Lew, James Tam, Kevin Ho.
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