The Farewell

The director Lulu Wang first told the story in April 2016, in a This American Life segment called “What You Don’t Know”; producer Chris Weitz heard it and helped secure the financing. Until then she had been meeting American and Chinese financiers who wanted a prominent white character written into the narrative and the drama punched up into a broad comedy. Most of the shoot was done in Changchun over 24 days in June 2018. Wang kept the secret from her own grandmother during and after production; the grandmother visited the set a block from her house, and found out only when a friend sent her a review of the film. A24 bought worldwide rights at Sundance for $7 million. The opening weekend took $355,662 from 4 theatres, and the per venue average of $88,916 was the best of 2019 at that point. Awkwafina won Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy at the 77th Golden Globes; at the 35th Independent Spirit Awards the film won Best Feature and Zhao Shuzhen won Best Supporting Female. A good fit if you want to watch a family stage a wedding in order to manage a lie, with the camera listening room by room. Not for anyone who has recently lost someone the same way; the film works that feeling directly.