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| THE NORTH AMERICAN THEATRICAL PREMIERE OF LI’S CONTROVERSIAL AND AWARD-WINNING FILM OPENS AT BROOKLYN’S BAM ROSE CINEMAS ON JULY 21, 2023, WITH ADDT’L MARKETS TO FOLLOW “Return To Dust [features] beautifully-judged performances that radiate warmth and encourage empathy. It marks Li Ruijun as a significant cinematic talent.”– Anna Smith, Deadline Hollywood “This poetic tale of an arranged marriage which blossoms into a true partnership is Li’s most affecting and accessible work to date.”– John Berra, Screen Daily “An absorbing, beautifully framed drama”– Jessica Kiang, Variety ★★★★“An elegiac love story”– Little White Lies “It’s an intimate drama that…moves you with its warm humanist core… Both leads are remarkable.”– Zhuo-Ning Su, Awards Daily |
| OFFICIAL U.S. TRAILER |
| SYNOPSIS A tender tale about the transformative nature of love, RETURN TO DUST — the sixth film by acclaimed Chinese director Li Ruijun, nominated for a Golden Bear at the 2022 Berlinale — expands into a poignant story of resilience against the conventions of society and the exploitation of farm workers. The film, which unexpectedly topped the box office with $15 million and became the most popular film in China, stirred controversy with its depictions of rural life. Two weeks after opening, it quickly disappeared, without warning, from theaters and streaming services. And, although it has never been officially confirmed that the film was banned, it remains impossible to see in Li’s home country today. Set in 2010 in the small, rural village in Gaotai, two lonely, middle-aged people—Cao, a timid woman suffering from chronic illness and a disability, and Ma, an unassuming farmer with little to his name—are pushed into an arranged marriage by their respective families. Cast aside as burdens, Cao and Ma’s relationship is tepid at first but warms as the two spend their days fixing up an abandoned house on their small patch of land. Invigorated by a shared purpose and the all-consuming nature of farm work, the couple’s bond grows. However, in the dwindling rural communities of the Gansu province surrounding them, local farmers are being incentivized by local government to demolish their homes and uproot toward the cities. With their livelihood disappearing, the couple attempt to build a new life together with continued patience and determination toward their home and one another. And in the face of much adversity, an unexpected bond begins to blossom, as both Ma and Cao, uniting with Earth’s cycles, create a haven for themselves in which they can thrive.Featuring beautiful lead performances by Wu Renlin and Hai Qing and meticulously shot over the course of a year, Return to Dust is “an absorbing, beautifully framed drama….” (Variety). Li Ruijun’s humanist approach to documenting the rapid urbanization of his beloved native region and the individuals it produces prove him to be one of the leading figures of Chinese independent cinema. DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY: LI RUIJUN One of the leading figures in China’s new independent cinema, Li Ruijun (1983, Gansu) began studying music and visual arts at the age of fourteen. After graduating in 2003, he worked as a director for television. He debuted as a director of feature films in 2006. His films, often shot in his home village of Gaotai in Gansu and starring mainly his family and friends, focus on the relationship between the individual and the land, and the attitude of rural communities towards existential issues in a country undergoing sweeping changes. SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY 2007 – The Summer Solstice2010 – The Old Donkey2012 – Fly with the Crane2014 – River Road2017 – Walking Past the Future2022 – Return to Dust FOR RETURN TO DUST ASSETS, GO HERE RETURN TO DUST (2022)Directed & Written by: Li RuijunCast: Wu Renlin, Hai QingProduced by: Qin, Hong, Zhang Min, Li YanExecutive Produced by: Xiang HeCinematography by: Wang WeihuaGenre: DramaRT: 133 minutesLanguage: Mandarin with English Subtitles Screening links are available; to request, please contact: Michael KrauseFoundry Communications(212) 586-7967| mkrause@foundrycomm.com |
| About Film Movement Founded in 2002, Film Movement is a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide. Film Movement’s theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign art house titles. Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Lee Isaac Chung, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Ang Lee, Eric Rohmer, Luchino Visconti, Stanley Kwan, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci and Ettore Scola. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com. Visit www.filmmovementplus.com for more information about Film Movement Plus, Film Movement’s critically lauded streaming subscription service. Recently, Film Movement has acquired STAY WITH US, Gad Elmaleh’s conversion comedy, the feature documentary, ART TALENT SHOW, the Proxima Grand Prix Award winner at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Wen Shipei’s brooding noir, ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?, a 2021 Cannes Camera d’Or nominee, Kamila Andini’s Indonesian period drama BEFORE, NOW & THEN, winner of the Silver Bear Award for Best Supporting Performance at the 2022 Berlinale, Hà Lệ Diễm’s CHILDREN OF THE MIST, winner of the Best International Feature Award at DocAviv, and official Cannes selection THE NIGHT OF THE 12TH, an atmospheric French crime thriller helmed by multi-Palme d’Or nominee Dominik Moll. |
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