Variety has released the first trailer for Chinese director Agnis Shen Zhongmin’s debut film Shanghai Girl, which will have its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival.
The drama follows Ming, a Shanghai woman who travels alone to a rubber tree plantation in Xishuangbanna, along China’s southwestern border, in search of people who knew her father, who died during the Cultural Revolution’s rural uprising half a century ago. As old production team houses face demolition and mining companies and modern agricultural projects transform the land where rubber plantations once stood, Ming meets farm officials, a country doctor, a Dai elder, a rubber tapper, a young ecologist, and a mysterious woman with whom she has a special connection.
The film is based on Shen Zhongmin’s personal experience. “The seeds for this film were sown 14 years ago, when my father had just passed away from an illness,” the director explained in a statement. “His death and absence prompted me to take a solo trip to a remote, tropical country.”
Repeated visits over the years have fostered deep ties with the region and its people. “This film, rooted in my family’s history, expands its thematic scope not only to explore ecofeminism, but also to a pivotal chapter in Chinese social history,” says Shen Zhongmin. “And for me, this is also an experiment in exploring non-binary realms that blur the lines between fiction and documentary, private and public, through a simple and contemplative cinematic language.”
The film stars real people who are not actors, along with lead actress Liang Kuixian, who appeared in “Cloud in Her Room”, which won the Golden Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and “Until Love Do Us Part”, which was screened at the Pingyao International Film Festival.
“Beyond the real people who are not actors and the female protagonist, the landscape, flora and fauna of southwest China are also depicted as silent figures in their own right,” added Shen Zhongmin. “We hope that this film will transport audiences into a concrete geographical space, allowing them to walk, observe, listen and feel alongside the characters.”
Shen Zhongmin is also a writer and the author of short story collections such as “Shanghai Geography Notes,” “Deep Simulator,” and “A Traveler’s Desire.” She graduated from Tongji University with a degree in film direction and screenwriting, and worked as a journalist and newspaper editor before moving into an interdisciplinary practice of contemporary art, literature, and film.
The producers are Xu Ruijin and Liao Yong of Twelve Oaks. The cinematographer is Pu Wei, and the sound director is Dukar Celan. The project was selected for the SIFF Projects in Progress category at the 2025 Shanghai International Film Festival.
Parallax Films will handle international sales. The film is shot in Mandarin and Dai dialects.
Watch the trailer here:
