Slowly Saying Goodbye

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Creative Statement

On a background pieced together from real experience, they write their own romance. Film is more concentrated than life, and stories are braver than experience; I hope they have the courage we so often lack at the last moment. Not dejected or despairing, mostly bright; not obscure, but easy to watch; warm and healing, a comfort in parting. This is Slowly Saying Goodbye, a film full of hope.

Synopsis

The Qu family, a family of four, lives in a small coastal city in the north. When the mother, Luo Hong, is suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness, the family's quiet life is thrown into turmoil. Qu Yifang is determined to keep it from their mother; the stepfather, Qu Zhiqian, back from sea after working as a sailor, insists on telling Luo Hong; the rational, level-headed sister, Qu Shanshan, always keeps her thoughts to herself. They argue and hurt one another, yet none of them can or will leave the others to bear it alone. They face difficulty after difficulty while hoping to leave no regrets. How to choose and what to do: the Qu family must find a path of their own, slowly saying goodbye......

Genre:

Drama, Family, Comedy

Director:

Yi Xiangyu

Screenwriter:

Shi Chang

About the Director

Yi Xiangyu: from Cangzhou, Hebei. Entered the Directing Department of the Beijing Film Academy (undergraduate) in 2013. 2015: short film Jieji Kan'ai (Best Short Film, Tencent Special Section, Beijing College Student Film Festival). 2017: short film Keeping a Low Profile. 2017: screenplay Good Luck Always (project market section, Beijing College Student Film Festival). 2019: short film Becoming Someone (Best Short Film, Chinese American Film Festival; third prize at the 16th film viewing and exchange event of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee).

About the Screenwriter

Shi Chang: from Shenzhen, Guangdong. Entered the Department of Dramatic Writing of the Beijing Film Academy (undergraduate) in 2010; master's degree from the University of Southampton, UK. 2013: screenplay Past Events of Lichuan. 2018: short film screenplay The Wide World (Arclight Alliance Award, BFA Director Awards). 2021: screenplay Look at the Bridge.

Logline

This is a story about parting. There is no despair or sorrow in it, only a family who do everything they can to leave no regrets and, with love and joy, slowly say goodbye. This is their story.