Paris-based international sales company Reel Suspects has boarded worldwide sales on Chinese filmmaker Ah Biao’s feature debut “Border” (“Bian Jing”), which will world premiere in the official selection of the San Sebastián Film Festival, where it competes for the Golden Shell.
The cast includes Zheyan Li, Feng Qi, Sanming Han, Gang Zheng and Tao Guo, in a Hong Kong-U.S.-South Korea-Japan co-production.
The story centers on an impoverished young miner living a muted existence in a remote town where emotional reticence is the norm among men. A mysterious young woman disrupts his routine, awakening a curiosity he thought long dormant. Drawn to follow her into unfamiliar territory, he abandons the familiar comforts of his old life, not realizing she is hiding something about who she really is.
“We’re thrilled to bring ‘Border’ to audiences at San Sebastián and to see the film presented in official competition,” said Matteo Lovadina, Reel Suspects CEO. “Ah Biao is a remarkable new voice with a distinctive cinematic vision, and we believe this is the beginning of a very exciting journey for him. He is undoubtedly a filmmaker to watch, and we’re delighted to be introducing his work to international audiences at such an important moment in his career. ‘Border’ presents a distinctive cinematic aesthetic rooted in Eastern experience. Through image, sound, performance and space, it draws on the language of cinema itself to explore the existential struggles of human experience. Its strikingly fresh audiovisual expression reveals another dimension of contemporary Chinese-language cinema.”
