Ajyal Film Festival 2023

All Films

The Farewell

Ajyal Competition

Lulu Wang / Feature Narrative / United States of America, China / 2019 / 98 min / DCP
In English, Mandarin
Interests: Comedy, Drama

Synopsis

In this darkly-comedic, yet uplifting tale, Chinese-born, American-raised Billi (Awkwafina) finds out that her “Nai-Nai” has tragically been diagnosed with lung cancer. Although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch is terminally ill, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. To spend her final moments together, they gather under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, uniting family members scattered around the globe. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate—a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother’s wondrous spirit, and the ties that bind families, even when so much goes unspoken.

Based loosely on her own childhood, writer/director Lulu Wang has created a heartfelt celebration of both the way we perform family and the way we live it, masterfully interweaving a gently humorous depiction of the “good lie” in action with a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us, often in spite of ourselves. ‘The Farewell’ deftly captures these often-complicated family dynamics with a poignant, well-acted drama that marries cultural specificity with universally relatable themes.

About the Directors

Lulu Wang is a classical pianist turned filmmaker. Born in Beijing, raised in Miami and educated in Boston, Lulu is a recipient of the Chaz and Roger Ebert Directing Fellowship, which was awarded at the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards. She is also a 2014 Film Independent Project Involve Directing Fellow and a 2017 Sundance Fellow. Her second feature ‘The Farewell’ premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Lulu was listed by Variety as one of their ‘Ten Directors to Watch in 2019’.

Credits

Director
Lulu Wang
Screenwriter
Lulu Wang
Producer
Daniele Melia, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng, Lulu Wang, Anita Gou
Editor
Michael Taylor, Matthew Friedman
Production Designer
Yong Ok Lee
Executive Producer
Eddie Rubin
Co-Producer
Josh Cohen, Dan Balgoyen
Music
Alex Weston
Cinematographer
Anna Franquesa Solano
Distributor
Front Row Filmed Entertainment
Cast
Awkwafina Tzi Ma Diana Lin Zhao Shuzhen Lu Hong Jiang Yongbo

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