The latest from husband-and-wife directing team Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka is a look at consumerism in China that will make your blood run cold. Lynn (Yao Honggui) is nearing the end of her post-secondary education and looking forward to a career as a flight attendant. She has a pushy, patriarchal boyfriend and a mother deep in debt; things get even worse when she finds herself pregnant. Not interested in motherhood at this point in her life, Lynn decides to carry out the pregnancy and sell the child to her mom’s debtors.
Stonewalling unfolds in a series of long takes, each of them framed with a precision that underscores the cold, polished design of contemporary urban China. That sheen of slickness is shown to conceal desperation and ruthlessness; Lynn’s situation is just the foremost example in the film. It would be hard to imagine a more capitalistic environment than the one depicted here, and the filmmakers imbue the milieu with a powerful malaise.
Media Partner
Yao Honggui, Liu Long, Xiao Zilong, Huang Xiaoxiong, Liu Gang
Japan
2022
In Hunanese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Namesake
Powell River... named for Israel Wood Powell, a 19th century politician and a man of his time, an advocate for residential schools and the Indian Act. The Tla'amin Nation asks the city to consider changing its name, a request which sparks intense debate.
Julio Avila Cuban Band Live + The Mambo Kings Film Screening
Feel the heat! Shake your booty as we combine a live set of exhilarating Cuban music followed by a rediscovered 90s barnstormer of a movie starring Latin heartthrobs Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas alongside the likes of Tito Puente and Celia Cruz.
The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) gives FBI serial killer hunter Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) pointers from his maximum security cell. But is he trying to aid the investigation, or just messing with her head?
Credits
Producer
Otsuka Ryuji
Screenwriter
Otsuka Ryuji, Huang Ji
Cinematography
Otsuka Ryuji
Editor
Liao Ching-sung, Otsuka Ryuji, Du Men
Production Design
Otsuka Ryuji, Huang Ji
Original Music
Ng Chor Guan
Directors
Huang Ji
Huang Ji was born in Hunan in 1984 and studied screenwriting at the Beijing Film Academy. Since her first short film, The Warmth of Orange Peel (2009), she has been focusing on exploring the secrets of women’s inner emotions. Egg and Stone (2012), her debut feature, won the Tiger Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam, while her sophomore feature, The Foolish Bird (2017), was awarded the Special Mention of the Generation 14+ International Jury at Berlinale. She is also the founder of Around You Film Workshop.
Filmography: Egg and Stone (2012); Trace (2013); The Foolish Bird (2017)
Otsuka Ryuji
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1972, Ryuji Otsuka relocated to China in 2005 to work in independent filmmaking, and has since been serving as the cinematographer and producer for all the films directed by Huang Ji. In 2013, he made his first documentary, Beijing Ants, as a solo director. His co-directed feature, The Foolish Bird (2017), won him the Best Artistic Originality Award (DoP) in FIRST International Film Festival. His recent cinematography work includes A Family Tour (2018) and Damp Season (2020).