Berlin

SYNOPSIS

Deep in northwestern China, surrounded by cotton fields and desert, lies the Uyghur village that Isa calls home. When he is not at school or working on his parents‘ farmyard, he spends carefree days with his friends – until the outside world starts forcing him to say one goodbye after another. With Isa’s mother‘s illness placing an increasing burden on the family, his father considers putting her in a care home, far away from the village. Isa‘s best friend Kalbinur is getting bad grades, and is about to be sent to a faraway Chinese school. And then the little  lamb, which the two children had been looking after with devotion ever since it was born, disappears. Captured in naturalistic imagery, winter closes in on Isa‘s world.

A FIRST FAREWELL won  The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus

International Jury for the Best Film awarded the 69th Annual Berlinale

The jury comments:

"The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the Best Feature Film goes to an honest cinematic exploration of what it means to grow up in the Uyghur minority in China. This poetic and intimate film gives us insight into the changing relations within two families living in a culture caught between traditional and modern perspectives. Visually arresting and deeply moving, this film makes us question what it means to be close, what it means to be distant and how the young protagonists of the film evolve through their first farewells."

Quotes from the press:

“A First Farewell’ is superbly paced, never rushing to any one destination yet retaining the feeling of being masterfully reigned in......There is much to praise here as Wang’s seemingly slice-of-life approach to storytelling carries more depth than its simple yet rich exterior leads one to believe.” -  JAMIE CANSDALE, Asian Movie Pulse 

"That Wang wanted to craft a cinematic tribute to her hometown is especially evident in A First Farewell’s wide, crisp, eye-catching visuals." － SARAH WARD, Screen International 

Enthusiastic engagement from Berlinale audience