Parallax Films is shopping new titles by Chinese directors Shao Yihui, Yang Lina and Yin Lichuan at the Busan Asian Contents & Film Market. These filmmakers lead a boom in women-centered stories. Their recent hits grossed over RMB845 million, showing that movies about social pressure and gender roles pull in many viewers.
Three filmmakers at the forefront of China’s women-led cinema boom – Shao Yihui, Yang Lina and Yin Lichuan – have new titles on the slate of sales agent Parallax Films, which is shopping them to buyers at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) in Busan.
In the short “Winning at Sleep,” Shao turns her satirical eye on meritocracy and the culture of constant competition. The story centers on an everyday girl who is handed an unlikely chance at glory through an unusual contest.
“It’s OK” reteams Yang with Golden Horse winner Wen Qi (“Angels Wear White,” “The Bold, the Corrupt and the Beautiful”). Wen plays a young teacher dealing with an urgent health crisis, all while managing the unspoken connection she shares with her traditional mother. The dramedy takes on questions of womanhood and a woman’s control over her own body.
Veteran director Yin’s “A Joke” is billed as the first Chinese feature to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace. It follows a sanitation worker who spends three years quietly collecting proof against her abusive boss, then joins forces with a young lawyer to expose him.
The pickups ride a wave that began in 2021 with Shao’s breakout “B for Busy,” which opened the door for female-centered stories in China. Three years later, Yin’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and Shao’s second feature “Her Story” grossed more than RMB845 million ($118 million) combined at the domestic box office.
“Her Story” went on to win best picture, best actress and best supporting actress at the 38th Golden Rooster Awards, mainland China’s government-backed film honors. Films by women directors have historically won few opportunities at the awards, making the haul a landmark for feminist filmmaking in the country.
On the festival circuit, Luka Yuanyuan Yang’s documentary hybrid “Chinatown Cha-Cha” found similar success. Parallax credits a young female audience with growing clout for proving that films about gender roles, relationships and social pressure can pull in big numbers. Investors, studios and producers have since backed a broader range of women-led projects.
A generation of female directors now works across both commercial and indie filmmaking, chasing box office and festival prestige at once. Alongside Shao and Yin, the group includes Yang (“Spring Tide,” “Song of Spring”), Teng Congcong (“Send Me to the Clouds,” series “To the Wonder”) and Vivian Qu (“Angels Wear White,” “Girls on Wire”).
Parallax’s short film lineup also features “Our Secrets,” which took the Lights On Women’s Worth Award at Cannes’ La Cinef. “Scorching,” “Thirteenth Night” and “Fishtank” turn to fantasy to chart their characters’ interior lives. “Orlo With Karma” is a Tibetan coming-of-age romance from Kangdrun, director of “Linka Linka.”
“Linka Linka,” which won the Firebird and Fipresci prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, explores urban Tibetan youth culture today, while “100 Sunset” looks at the Tibetan diaspora in Canada. Anuparna Roy’s “Lovers in the Blue Night” won the Netpac Award at Venice. Documentary and hybrid titles about identity and family include “Masayume,” Visions du Réel winner “From Dawn to Dawn” and docufiction “Shanghai Daughter.” “Now I Met Her” and “Embers” sit at the commercial end of the slate.