A FIRST FAREWELL

Director & Writer: WANG, Lina, Cast: Isa Yasan, Kalbinur Rahmati, Alinaz Rahmati

Wang Lina’s experimental debut explores the sensitivity shared by narrative filmmaking and documenting reality, unveiling poetry from the minutiae of Uighurs' life in Xinjiang like none other. Tailing an endearing boy named Isa in Shaya, her heavenly home village surrounded by textured sand dunes and millennia-old trees, she tugs viewers' heartstrings with a story about treasures in his carefree childhood and how they gradually fade away, as love, home, and personal advancement get weighed against another for this generation of minority children, who must bid many farewells to assimilate into the more widely acknowledged best life.

AWARDS

Best Film, Berlin International Film Festival, Generation Kplus

Best Film, Tokyo International Film Festival, Asian Future

“First Farewell thrives on humanity rather than dogma, and offers poetry rather than propaganda...Bolstered by lush imagery and, perhaps more importantly, immensely naturalistic performances...the film conjures up a quietly heartbreaking drama that works on multiple levels.”

— Clarence Tsui, Hollywood Reporter

“A First Farewell might be another sign of independent cinema revival in China...Wang Lina avoids stereotyping and exoticization...Uyghurs are not strangers in their own homeland, but flesh and bone protagonists with their own motivation and agency.”

— Maja Korbecka, Easternkicks

“As captivating a debut anyone could dream of making...a painter-poet manifests superbly in this visual love-letter to Xinjiang.”

— James Cansdale-Cook, Asian Movie Pulse

“Dedicated to her hometown of Shaya, Xinjiang, and filled with both affection and a clear-eyed understanding of its woes, this Uighur-language coming-of-age story is restrained in scale yet rousing in emotional impact.”

— Sarah Ward, Screen International

“Stunning images of seasonal change enhance the film’s themes of loss and upheaval. an emotionally rewarding glimpse into challenges faced by this Muslim minority.”

— Richard Kuipers, Variety

Available License Types:

Public Performance Rights (PPR)

The license allows an organization to hold screenings of the film on its own grounds, to groups of no more than 50 people, and where no admission is charged.

(For screenings that charge admission and or with an audience of more than 50 people, please send booking inquiries to info@chengchengfilm.com)

Digital Site License (DSL)

The License allows an organization to provide digital streaming on a password protected server only to registered students, members, researchers, faculty and staff.

Available Formats:

DVD

NTSC, Audio: Dolby Digital, Region Code: 1

Subtitles: English

Bonus Features: Trailers

Digital File

High Quality 1080p mp4 file

Subtitles/Closed Captions: English and Chinese

Spoken Languages: Uighur, Mandarin

Not Rated, Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (16:9 Widescreen)

Disclaimer: All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work reproduced are reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance, radio or TV broadcasting of the disc is prohibited.

Licensed by Cheng Cheng Films. www.chengchengfilm.com