EXCLUSIVE: Chinese sales agent Rediance has added Suzhou Quartet by Rotterdam Tiger Award winner Cai Chengjie to its Cannes slate.
Starring Huang Bo, the film is set in the city of Suzhou during the long rainy season and follows four strangers who coincidentally gather in a small noodle shop, only to discover they have previously crossed paths.
The four characters comprise an eight-year-old who needs a foster home; a 25-year-old girl who wants independence; a 45-year-old man who runs into his first love; and a 65-year-old woman who forgets about her own right to pursue love.
The film embodies oriental aesthetics, drawing inspiration from traditional folding screens and quadriptych paintings, which are divided into four vertical panels. The four stories unfold simultaneously within the frame, each with shifting narrative prominence and emotional weight.
“Through the bold artistic choice of a four-panel structure, the film transforms the traditional Chinese folding screen and architectural landscapes of Suzhou, an ancient water town, into synchronised stories with raw humanity, redefining the boundaries of visual storytelling,” said Rediance CEO Xie Meng.
Leading the cast is Huang, an award-winning actor with credits including No Man’s Land and Dearest. He is also the film’s executive producer through his own Hanna Pictures. Asian Pacific National Film and Maoyan Entertainment are among the backers.
Cai’s directorial debut feature, The Widowed Witch, won best narrative feature and best director at FIRST International Film Festival in Xining, China, in 2017 and the Tiger Award at Rotterdam the following year.
Rediance’s Cannes slate also includes Critics’ Week documentary Imago by Chechen director Déni Oumar Pitsaev, the first-ever feature-length Chechen film selected for the festival; and Palme d’Or Shorts contender Lili, directed by Luo Zhaoguang and Liao Shuhan.
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