STRIDING INTO THE WIND
野马分鬃
Director: WEI, Shujun Writer: WEI, Shujun; GAO, Linyang Cast: ZHOU, You; ZHENG, Yingchen; WANG, Xiaomu
Film school student Kun graduates into a real-world that moves too fast to care about his auteur aspirations and sound recording skills. Yearning for an escape away from Beijing’s grinding survival races, he sets off for a film shoot in Inner Mongolia’s lush grasslands, where amusing man-made spectacles and unforgettable lessons await him. With three Cannes official selections under his belt at the age of 30, writer-director Wei Shujun is an unstoppable force rising from the Chinese indie film scene. In the debut inspired by his real-life experience, he leisurely delivers sharp observations of the embarrassments surrounding film education and indie filmmaking in a money-oriented society with witty humor.
FESTIVAL AND AWARDS
Window of Asian Films, Busan International Film Festival
New Directors Competition, Chicago International Film Festival
Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival
Official Selection, London BFI Film Festival
“...easily one of the best Chinese indie or arthouse films of the last few years, and is all the better for its personal feel and its avoidance of the clichés of the form. Wei Shujun does a great job of presenting a relatable picture of directionless youth and of his experiences in the industry...the film is invigorating and entertaining from start to finish.”
OPENING IN THEATERS
12/17/2021-12/23/2021 LOS ANGELES Laemmle Playhouse
1/14/2022 SAN FRANCISCO Presidio Theatre
2/4/2022-3/2/2022 VANCOUVER VIFF Centre/Connect
2/11/2022, TORONTO Revue Cinema
2/25/2022 SEATTLE SIFF
3/12/2022 TORONTO Pendance Film Festival
3/25/2022 WINNIPEG Cinematheque
3/27/2022 BOULDER International Film Series
NOW ON VOD
COMING TO VOD
3/8/2022
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“...elegantly dry-humoured about the film-making game... it should also appeal to admirers of the hangdog comic school of Jarmusch, Kaurismäki et...You can’t help admire director Wei’s comic self-deprecation in making his autobiographical alter ego such an out-and-out dope.”
“The film made me feel very melancholy, as we follow Kun, a struggling sound recordist through film school...a really accurate portrayal of how the role of sound man is pushed to one side...this brought to my mind how film schools are generating so many graduates who then struggle to find even the most basic of film jobs, going into an ever-growing and over-saturated market.”
“Kun’s filmmaker friends emulate Wong Kar-wai, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, and Hong Sang-soo, looking beyond the Mainland for a sense of artistic cool but equally seeming to have few truly “independent” ideas of their own. The Chinese indie scene, Wei seems to say, flounders like Kun trapped by his own sense of inertia unable to free himself from an oppressive society, striding into the wind but ill-equipped to counter its resistance.”
“a deliriously entertaining and wryly funny snapshot of contemporary youth in China...This visually striking project in its elegance yet jocular idiosyncrasy marks a stellar debut from Shujun.”