春花开 | Plastic Flowers

Middle aged businesswoman Xie Chunhua is well-off but still leads a celibate life. In her plastic flower factory, she notices two young men: they have similar appearance, one plays flutes, and the other writes poems, entirely different from the rest of workers in the factory. Successively they fall in love with their wealthy boss. Maybe out of their love to the enchanting boss, or their desire to her property, or maybe jealousy, a complex feeling arises between these two men… At the night before the wedding ceremony, he, or maybe the other man, stabs at the other, and then jumps off the tower. The next day, two dead men, are still alive. One of the men sees the wedding between the other man and Xie Chunhua taking place amid the sea of plastic flowers Is it purely imagination or just another pathetic reality?

Directed by Bingjian Liu | Starring : Xiaoqing Liu, Zhi Yin, Xiding Min, Qin Liao | Presented at Toronto Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival

哭泣的女人 | Cry Woman

Wang Guixiang and her husband are a migrant couple living in Beijing. Wang is eking out a career selling pirated DVDs when disaster strikes and police confiscate her DVD stocks, and her husband is arrested after getting into a fight over a mahjong game. Forced to return to Guizhou, she meets an old boyfriend, who suggests she take a job as a professional mourner. Surprisingly, Wang finds herself very good at her new job as a “cry woman” and soon discovers that her talents are very much in demand.

Directed by Bingjian Liu | Starring : Longjun Li, Qin Liao, Xingkun Wei, Ging Wen, Jiayue Zhu | Presented at Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival

男男女女 | Men and Women

Xiao Bo arrives in Beijing, gets a job at a boutique, and is invited to stay with his lady boss, Ah Qing, and her husband, Kang. Knowing that Xiao Bo is still single, Ah Qing recommends her best female friend, Ah Meng, to him. After a few dates, Ah Meng starts to suspect Xiao Bo is gay. She tells Ah Qing, who then informs Kang. After learning this, Kang attempts to rape Xiao Bo when Ah Qing isn’t at home. Xiao Bo leaves the house, quits the job and joins his old friend, Chong Chong, and realizes that he has a gay lover, Gui Gui. Some time later, Ah Qing confesses to Kang that she had an affair… with Ah Meng. On the other hand, Chong Chong tries to “convert” Xiao Bo, much to the dismay of Gui Gui.

Directed by Bingjian Liu | Starring : Qing Yang, Bo Yu, Kang Zhang, Jiangang Wei, Zi’en Cui | Presented at Locarno Film Festival, Mar del Plata Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Singapore Film Festival