Chinese auteur Vivian Qu‘s latest drama “Girls on Wire” received an emotional response at its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, with audiences both laughing and weeping during the screening.
An intimate portrait of two cousins navigating personal ambition and family obligations against the backdrop of China’s rapid social transformation, the drama, which is in the festival’s main competition, weaves together themes of independence, generational change, and the cost of pursuing one’s dreams.
The film stars Liu Haocun, who broke out in Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” and earned the best newcomer Award at the Asian Film Awards, alongside Wen Qi, who previously collaborated with Qu on “Angels Wear White.” Their casting brings together two of China’s most promising young talents, with Wen winning the Golden Horse Award winner for best supporting actress at age 14 for “The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful.”
Set against the world of film stunt work, “Girls on Wire” explores the complex relationship between two cousins from China’s single-child generation. “When you had no siblings, the closest companion would be a cousin,” Qu explains. “During my research of this generation, the first generation of business owners in China in the 80s and 90s, I really noticed these children. When their parents were too busy to properly take care of them, the only person they could rely on was their cousin.”
The story follows Fang Di, who leaves home to become a stunt performer to clear family debts, and her cousin Tian Tian, who remains behind dealing with her father’s addiction before being forced to flee local mobsters. “It’s a complex relationship,” Qu says. “They rely on each other, but at the same time, the family situation makes it very difficult for them to hold on to each other all the time. Each woman as individual, I think, they’re warriors, their fighters, they each do their best to fight for freedom, fight for independence, fight for the kind of dream they want to live in.” Their reunion in China’s largest film studio complex as they seek freedom and survival sets up a dramatic confrontation with both personal and criminal threats.
Qu’s approach to filming the stunt work sequences prioritized authenticity over spectacle. One particularly challenging water sequence required two full nights of shooting, with Wen performing many of her own stunts. “We didn’t know whether the actors could really do all these movements,” Qu recalls. “But she was fantastic. She actually did most of the incredible things. And I kept a long take on her… so that the audience can really see it’s her doing everything.”
“Most of the time we just ignore them. We don’t even know they exist,” Qu says of stunt performers, explaining her approach to portraying their often-invisible labor. “I don’t want the set pieces. I don’t want the formulated movements. I want to hear the friction of the wires. I want to feel the tightness of the vest. I want to feel the cold of the water.”
The filmmaker, who made history as the first female director to win best director at both the Golden Horse Awards and the China Film Director’s Guild Awards, continues her examination of pressing social issues that marked her previous works “Trap Street” and “Angels Wear White,” both of which premiered at Venice. “I think for me to chronicle this era, from the 90s till now, is very important,” Qu says, “because a lot of the answers, a lot of the questions we have right now for where we are, where we stand, maybe we can find answers in the past. No other country has changed so drastically in such a short time, but China did.”
The film’s premiere at Berlin holds special significance for Qu, who produced Diao Yinan’s 2014 Golden Bear winner “Black Coal, Thin Ice.” “It means we have the opportunity to show the world that the young generation of Chinese actors, especially these two young women, they’re so talented, and they really need to be seen,” she says. “I really hope they could also have international careers for themselves.”
At its Berlin premiere, the film received a packed house and an emotional response from audiences. “I could hear people laughing and weeping during the screening,” Qu says. The film’s tonal balance between humor and pathos was carefully orchestrated. “I let the emotions flow from one cousin to the other, shifting from present to past and back again,” she notes, adding that she wanted to create an organic rhythm between memory and reality.
The film’s March 8 release date in China, coinciding with International Women’s Day, seems particularly apt given its focus on female perspectives. “Young female audiences nowadays in China really want to see films about women,” Qu says, noting that recent Lunar New Year blockbusters were predominantly male-led. “They want to connect to other female characters. They want to find solutions to their own problems.”
While acknowledging that “the space for independent cinema is not huge,” Qu sees encouraging signs in audience reception. “More and more people are demanding good quality films. They want to see serious, interesting films, fresh new films,” she says.
The filmmaker is already developing several new projects exploring different periods in Chinese history, continuing her interest in finding contemporary answers through historical examination.
“Girls on Wire” is produced by L’Avventura Films and J.Q. Spring Pictures, with Films Boutique handling world sales. Following its Berlin premiere and Chinese release, the film is expected to continue its festival run internationally.
