THE FAREWELL

Director: Lulu Wang

100, PG

Screenwriter: Lulu Wang

Cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, Jiang Yongbo, Chen Hanwei.

Crazy Rich Asians was a surprise smash hit that broke box office records and barriers around the world. It also introduced audiences to the funny and hip Awkwafina. In this new bittersweet comedy written and directed by Lucy Wang, Awkwafina gets to reveals a softer side. As Billi, she is a struggling artist who is (very) reluctantly pulled into her parents’ scheme: to bring the Chinese and Chinese American families together in Changchun for an expedited wedding, giving everyone the chance to say goodbye to Nai Nai, the ailing matriarch. How much Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) knows is just the tip of the iceberg, as family secrets and cultural misunderstandings threaten to turn the wedding into tragedy and/or pure farce.

“As delightful as Zhao is in this crucial, central role, she will also quietly rip your heart out by the film’s end.” Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com.

Winner, Audience Award, London Sundance Film Festival.