An Unfinished Film

2024 Singaporean film
  • 16 May 2024 (2024-05-16) (Cannes)
Running time
106 minutesCountriesSingapore
GermanyLanguageMandarin

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[update], 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

It was nominated for the L'Œil d'or for best documentary[8] at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival where it had its world premiere on 16 May 2024 in the Special Screenings section.

References

  1. ^ Rosser, Michael. "Lou Ye's Cannes title 'An Unfinished Film' heads to Coproduction Office, lands first sales (exclusive)". Screen. 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. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  3. ^ "Lou Ye's An Unfinished Film, in a special screening at Cannes 2024". www.sortiraparis.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  4. ^ Vlessing, Etan (2024-04-22). "Cannes Adds Michel Hazanavicius, Mohammad Rasoulof, Emanuel Parvu Titles to Official Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  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.

External links

  • An Unfinished Film at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  • v
  • t
  • e
Films directed by Lou Ye
  • Weekend Lover (1995)
  • Suzhou River (2000)
  • Purple Butterfly (2004)
  • Summer Palace (2006)
  • Spring Fever (2009)
  • Love and Bruises (2011)
  • Mystery (2012)
  • Blind Massage (2014)
  • The Shadow Play (2018)
  • Saturday Fiction (2019)
  • An Unfinished Film (2024)