Variety has released the first trailer for “A Dance in Vain.” This is Lee Honchi’s second feature after the 2023 Venice Lion in Venice Lion in future award-winning debut “Love Is A Gun.”
The film was chosen as Settimana Internazionale Della Critica (sic), an independent parallel section of the Venice Film Festival hosted by Italian Film Critics (SNCCI).
The drama stars Chishi Wang as Monkey, a behind-the-scenes theatre worker facing unemployment after years of unpaid work. She struggles to secure housing in the competitive market in Shanghai, dealing with the sadness from her partner Leo’s suicide. Monkey is also trapped in a repetitive daily pattern, seeking connections and understanding from others, and only encountering a negative reaction that tells her that she is grateful for what she has.
The project came from a deep, personal moment in Lee’s urban cutting. “There was a time when the city I lived in suddenly felt strange to me,” the director explained. “Even the familiar friends and places I visited felt far away in ways I couldn’t explain, and that feeling captivated me.
“Sometimes people I knew, sometimes strangers I met on the street, just captured their lives in that moment. I knew it wouldn’t last.
Boutique International Sales and Distribution Company Parallax Films has made its way into global sales under the Chinese title. The deal marks the second collaboration between Parallax and Lee after processing international sales with “Love Is a Gun.”
Check out the trailer here:
