PODCAST | David Martos interviews Lulu Wang, director of the film The Farewell.
Lulu Wang talks to FRED about telling the story of her own family, casting her own great-aunt and how she is dealing with the Oscar buzz sorrounding the film.
The Farewell: Aspiring Chinese-American writer Billi maintains a close relationship with Nai Nai (a term used to mean ‘paternal grandmother’ in Mandarin) who lives in China. After receiving a rejection letter for a Guggenheim Fellowship, Billi discovers from her parents that Nai Nai has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and is predicted to have only a few months left to live. Through deception and manipulation of medical test results, the diagnosis is kept a secret from Nai Nai herself. Nai Nai is, instead, falsely told that her recent doctor visits have only revealed benign findings. A wedding for Billi’s cousin, Hao Hao, from Japan has been planned in China, as an excuse to unite the family to spend what is expected to be one last time with Nai Nai. Fearing Billi will end up exposing the lie to her grandmother, Haiyan and Jian tell her to remain in New York City.
To discover more about the 2019 edition of Festa del Cinema, click here.