Chinese drama Take Off will be released in US cinemas on 17 September by specialist distributor Orchid Tree Media. Directed by Pengfei, the film follows a factory worker pursuing his late father’s dream of building a homemade jetpack, and its release extends the film’s international reach after a North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival.

Set across northeast China from the 1970s to the present, the story follows Li Mingqi as economic change, family hardship and a failed early experiment shape his life. The film stars Jiang Qiming and is adapted from Shuang Xuetao’s novella The Aeronaut; it earned $12 million (RMB81 million) after opening in China in January.