Leading arthouse film sales company The Match Factory has boarded Wang Xiaoshuai’s drama “Above the Dust,” the follow-up to the director’s “So Long, My Son,” which won Silver Bears for best actor and actress at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, and was distributed in more than 30 territories.
Wang’s screenplay is an adaptation of Li Shijiang’s novel “Ye Ye De Gui.” The film, the second installment in Wang’s homeland trilogy, follows 10-year-old Chuan Zai and his family. It portrays the life of rural Chinese folks, and the effects on them of rapid changes in agriculture. The film looks at the connections between three generations of the family, and their deep affection for their land, during a time when modernization is transforming agriculture from traditional to industrial.
The film, which is expected to start shooting in China’s northwest in August, is being produced by Liu Xuan for Dongchun Films and WXS Production Studio. The companies previously partnered on Wang’s “Red Amnesia” (2014), which premiered in Venice.
“Above the Dust” is Wang’s 14th narrative feature film. Previous titles include “In Love We Trust” (2008), winner of the Berlin Silver Bear for screenplay; “Beijing Bicyle” (2001), winner of Berlin’s Grand Jury Silver Bear; and Cannes’ Grand Jury Prize winner “Shanghai Dreams” (2005).
