Guests Expected
Director Lulu Wang is expected to attend.
Description
An ebullient tale that both celebrates and gently satirizes Chinese cultural traditions, The Farewell is impossible to resist for many reasons. Chief among them is the irrepressible Awkwafina (a breakthrough in Crazy Rich Asians, 2018), a broke Asian-American artist off to China to join her family to say goodbye to her dying grandmother. Except no one is willing to tell grandma she is sick – and to complete the ruse they force her male cousin to get married to a bewildered Japanese woman to explain why this zany family is getting back together at all.
“[Awkwafina] brings that trademark insouciant attitude to early scenes of The Farewell, but the skill with which she layers in soulful feeling, sensitivity, and a spiritual connection to both the people and places of her character’s roots makes her performance a quiet revelation. She’s the center of an impeccably cast ensemble all drawn with deep personal investment and keen-eyed observation of complex Chinese family dynamics, making writer-director Lulu Wang’s bittersweet, poignant comedy-drama a gentle delight.” – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Sponsored by
Penelope Wong & Tim Kochis — Patrons of Chinese Cinema
Co-presented by
Chinese Cultural Society
CAAM
One of Variety’s 2019 “10 Directors to Watch” and the recipient of the 2014 Chaz and Roger Ebert Directing Fellowship, China-born, Florida-raised Lulu Wang graduated from Boston College with a degree in Literature and Music before turning to filmmaking. Prior to The Farewell (2019), she made a number of shorts, including Touch (2015), winner of Best Drama at the Asians on Film Festival, and one feature, Posthumous (2014). The Farewell began as a story that Wang wrote and narrated for NPR’s This American Life.
Film Details
Year 2019
Language English, Mandarin
Runtime 98
Country USA/China
Director Lulu Wang
Producer Daniele Melia, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng, Lulu Wang, Anita Gou
Writer Lulu Wang
Editor Michael Taylor, Matthew Friedman
Cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano
Music Alex Weston
Cast Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin
Print Source A24lisa@a24films.coma24films.com