A FIRST FAREWELL
第一次的离别
Director & Writer: WANG, Lina, Cast: Isa Yasan, Kalbinur Rahmati, Alinaz Rahmati
Wang Lina’s experimental debut explores the sensitivity shared by narrative filmmaking and documenting reality, unveiling poetry from the minutiae of Uighurs' life in Xinjiang like none other. Tailing an endearing boy named Isa in Shaya, her heavenly home village surrounded by textured sand dunes and millennia-old trees, she tugs viewers' heartstrings with a story about treasures in his carefree childhood and how they gradually fade away, as love, home, and personal advancement get weighed against another for this generation of minority children, who must bid many farewells to assimilate into the more widely acknowledged best life.
AWARDS
Best Film, Berlin International Film Festival, Generation Kplus
Best Film, Tokyo International Film Festival, Asian Future
Best Film, Hong Kong International Film Festival, Firebird Award
Best Filmmaker, Shanghai International Film Festival, Media Choice
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“First Farewell thrives on humanity rather than dogma, and offers poetry rather than propaganda...Bolstered by lush imagery and, perhaps more importantly, immensely naturalistic performances...the film conjures up a quietly heartbreaking drama that works on multiple levels.”
“A First Farewell might be another sign of independent cinema revival in China...Wang Lina avoids stereotyping and exoticization...Uyghurs are not strangers in their own homeland, but flesh and bone protagonists with their own motivation and agency.”
NOW ON VOD
“As captivating a debut anyone could dream of making...a painter-poet manifests superbly in this visual love-letter to Xinjiang.”
“Stunning images of seasonal change enhance the film’s themes of loss and upheaval. an emotionally rewarding glimpse into challenges faced by this Muslim minority.”
SCREENINGS
BRYN MAWR, PA Bryn Mawr Film Institute 3/2/2021
ITHACA, NY Cinemapolis 3/5/2021
BOULDER, CO International Film Series 3/5/2021
CHICAGO, IL Facets 3/12/2021
CHARLOTTE, NC Charlotte Film Society 3/12/2021
ATLANTA, GA Plaza Theatre 4/2/2021
DENVER, CO Denver Film Society 4/16/2021
TORONTO, ON Revue Cinema 4/30/3021
HUNTINGTON, NY Cinema Arts Centre, 5/7/2021
ST LOUIS, MO St. Louis International Film Festival, 11/4/2021
DURHAM, NC 49% Feminist Film Club, 11/11/2021
HUDSON, NY Time & Space Limited 2/19/2021
SARASOTA, FL Sarasota Film Society Burns Court Cinema 2/19/2021
LARKSPUR, CA Lark Theater 2/19/2021
NASHVILLE, TN The Belcourt 2/26/2021
NEW YORK, NY CineCina 2/26/2021
LOS ANGELES, CA Laemmle Theatres 2/26/2021
ALBUQUERQUE, NM Guild Cinema 2/26/2021
WINSTON SALEM, NC A/perture Cinema 2/26/2021
CLEVELAND, OH Cleveland Institute of Art 2/26/2021
SILVER SPRING, MD AFI Silver Theatre 2/26/2021
VANCOUVER, BC Vancouver International Film Centre 2/26/2021
TORONTO, ON SinoLux 2/26/2021
“Dedicated to her hometown of Shaya, Xinjiang, and filled with both affection and a clear-eyed understanding of its woes, this Uighur-language coming-of-age story is restrained in scale yet rousing in emotional impact.”