An Unfinished Film

An Unfinished Film
Directed byLou Ye
Written byLou Ye
Yingli Ma
Produced byPhilippe Bober
Yingli Ma
StarringQin Hao
Mao Xiaorui
Qi Xi
CinematographyZeng Jian
Edited byTian Jiaming
Production
companies
Yingfilms
Essential Films
ZDF/Arte
Cinema Inutile
Teamfun International
Gold Rush Pictures
Release date
  • 16 May 2024 (2024-05-16) (Cannes)
Running time
106 minutes
CountriesSingapore
Germany
LanguageMandarin

An Unfinished Film (Chinese: 一部未完成的电影) is a 2024 docufiction film directed by Lou Ye, and written by Lou and Yingli Ma.[1][2]

It had its world premiere on 16 May 2024 at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, in the Special Screenings section.[3][4][5]

Synopsis

In January 2020, a film crew reunites near Wuhan to resume the shooting of a film halted ten years earlier, only to share the unexpected challenges as cities are placed under lockdown.

Cast

  • Qin Hao as Jiang Cheng
  • Mao Xiaorui as Director Xiaorui
  • Qi Xi as Sang Qi
  • Huang Xuan as Ye Xiao
  • Liang Ming as Ah-Jian
  • Zhang Songwen as Tang
  • Youyou as Paopao

Production

The film combines outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from Lou's previous films—Suzhou River (2000), Spring Fever (2009), Mystery (2012), and The Shadow Play (2018)—and original footage of a film crew playing versions of themselves. It was originally conceived as a film consisting of old footage of Qin Hao playing various roles, which Lou felt "reflected the changes in China over the past decade or so", but as the COVID-19 pandemic began, it became a film centred on filmmaking during the pandemic.[6]

As of May 2024, a separate film by Lou also consisting of footage from Spring Fever, Mystery, and The Shadow Play and new footage featuring Qin, Huang Xuan, Liang Ming, and Qi Xi was in production.[7]

Release

The film was nominated for the L'Œil d'or for best documentary at the 77th Cannes Film Festival,[8] where it had its world premiere on 16 May 2024 in the Special Screenings section. It has also been selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 under the World Cinema section.[9]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10.[10]

Accolades

Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 2024 L'Œil d'or Lou Ye Nominated [11]
Taipei Golden Horse Awards 2024 Best Narrative Feature An Unfinished Film Won [12]
[13]
Best Director Lou Ye Won
Best Film Editing Tian Jiaming Nominated

References

  1. ^ Rosser, Michael. "Lou Ye's Cannes title 'An Unfinished Film' heads to Coproduction Office, lands first sales (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  2. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (2024-04-22). "Oliver Stone, Lou Ye, Michel Hazanavicius Films & 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' Among New Titles Added To Cannes 2024 Official Selection". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  3. ^ Vlessing, Etan (2024-04-22). "Cannes Adds Michel Hazanavicius, Mohammad Rasoulof, Emanuel Parvu Titles to Official Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  4. ^ Khaldi, Tarik (2024-05-16). "An Unfinished Film: Lou Ye tells the story of a doomed film project". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  5. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Pressbook" (PDF). Wolf Consultants. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  7. ^ Wong, Silvia (18 May 2024). "Lou Ye to finish 'An Unfinished Film' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  8. ^ "2024 Competition". Scam : Société civile des auteurs multimédia (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  9. ^ Deb, Deepshikha (2024-09-30). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup". High On Films. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  10. ^ "An Unfinished Film". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  11. ^ "Festival de Cannes, découvrez la Sélection 2024 de L'Œil d'or". Scam : Société civile des auteurs multimédia (in French). 10 May 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Nominees & Winners 2024". 台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  13. ^ Lee, Edmund (2024-10-03). "All Shall Be Well leads Hong Kong contenders at Golden Horse Awards". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-10-03.