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Stonewalling

Stonewalling

A film by Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka

20 year-old Lynn is told she needs English classes, flight attendant school, and a go getter-attitude. She perseveres along this path of upward mobility until she finds out she’s pregnant. Indecisive and running out of time, she tells her boyfriend she’s had an abortion and instead returns to her feuding parents and their failing clinic to try and figure out (if she can) what’s next.

Built from interviews with college women happy to invest in themselves, observations of a post-Tik Tok China, and their own lived experiences, STONEWALLING is perceptive with meticulous attention to detail. Returning with a now adult Yao Honggui (FOOLISH BIRD, EGG AND STONE) opposite the directors’ own parents, husband-and-wife team Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka take a look at the new norms of gig-economy, grey markets, MLMs, and hustling in modern-day metropolitan China through the experiences of one ordinary young woman.

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DVD
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Digital

Stonewalling feels utterly present and on the pulse of the question of what it means to be a young woman in modern China

- RogerEbert

NY TIMES CRITIC’S PICK! Few movies capture the surreal comedy and engulfing horror of the money-driven world as piercingly as “Stonewalling.” A cool, quietly brilliant heartbreaker!

- The New York Times

STONEWALLING is testament to the idea that to build a compelling narrative one does not have to rely on excessive dramatic gesture.

- ICS

STONEWALLING offers a precise view of a particular kind of Gen Z ennui.

- indieWire

Elegant cinematography, while never showy, brings texture and depth to the story through its use of colour and deft framing.

- Screen International

An engrossing and thoughtful portrait of contemporary China.

- Screen International

Play Dates
TicketTheater/FestivalCityStateOpening Date
BUY TICKETSFilm at Lincoln CenterNew YorkNY3/10/23
Imagine Cinemas -The CarltonTorontoON, Canada3/10/23
Imagine Cinemas- Elgin MillsRichmond Hill ON, Canada3/10/23
BUY TICKETSHonolulu Museum of Art - Doris Duke TheatreHonoluluHI3/17/23
BUY TICKETSPhiladelphia Film Society-BOURSE PhiladelphiaPA3/17/23
BUY TICKETSBear Tooth TheatreAnchorageAK3/20/23
Laemmle GlendaleLos Angeles CA3/31/23
Digital Gym Cinema San DiegoCA4/7/23
Oklahoma City Museum of ArtOklahoma CityOK5/4/23
Gateway Film CenterColumbusOH5/19/23
Webster Film SeriesSt. LouisMO5/26/23
Space GalleryPortlandME5/31/23
Cleveland CinemathequeClevelandOH8/20/23
SpacyDallasTX8/23/23
About the Director

Huang Ji

Born in Hunan in 1984, and studied screenwriting in the Beijing Film Academy. Since her first short film, The Warmth of Orange Peel (2009),
she has been focusing on exploring the secrets of women’s inner emotions. Egg And Stone (2012), her debut feature, won the Tiger Award of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, while her sophomore film, The Foolish Bird (2017), was awarded the Special Mention of the Generation 14+ International Jury at Berlinale. She is also the founder and tutor of Around You Film Workshop, which engages in educating the new generation.

FILMOGRAPHY

2022 Stonewalling
2017 The Foolish Bird
2013 Trace
2012 Egg And Stone
2010 The Warmth Of Orange Peel

Ryuji Otsuka

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1972. He relocated to China in 2005 to work in independent filmmaking, and has since been serving as the cinematographer and producer for all the films directed by Huang Ji. In 2013, he made his first documentary, Beijing Ants, as a solo director. His co-directed The Foolish Bird (2017) won him the Best Artistic Originality Award (DoP) in FIRST International Film Festival. His recent cinematography work includes A Family Tour (2018) and Damp Season (2020).

 

FILMOGRAPHY

2022 Stonewalling
2017 The Foolish Bird
2017 One Day, One Step
2014 Beijing Ants
2013 Trace
2009 Lingling’s Garden

Cast and Crew

CREW

Director: Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka

Screenplay: Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka

Producers: Ryuji Otsuka

Cinematography: Ryuji Otsuka

Editing: Ching-sung Liao, Ryuji Otsuka, Men Du

Film Info

Year: 2022

Country: Japan

Runtime: 147 min

Color: Color

Language: Hunanese

Subtitles: English

 

Sound: 5.1

Awards and Festivals

Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days, Venice International Film Festival)

Toronto Film Festival

New York Film Festival

BFI London Film Festival

San Diego Asian Film Festival

Vancouver International Film Festival

Tokyo FILMex International Film Festival

Viennale International Film Festival

Hawaii International Film Festival

World Film Festival of Bangkok – Best Screenplay Award

Palm Springs International Film Festival

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