Xuan Liu

SO LONG MY SON traces the lives of two families over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Following the loss of a child in a tragic accident, their paths separate. Destinies ebb and flow, and fortunes are transformed under the impact of a country’s changing face. Yet even as their lives diverge, a common search for truth and reconciliation around the tragedy remains. But sometimes it can take a lifetime to say farewell. SO LONG MY SON chronicles people and a society in full transformation - in which human relationships and the tumultuous evolution of a nation are inevitably and inextricably intertwined.

In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves.

Lao Yang is not "a good father" in Chinese traditional way although he's already in his 60s. His wealth has been through ups and downs ferociously. His business went bankrupt years ago. Luckily, his three children are all grown up and have their own family. Lao Yang spends his days between taking care of his bedridden wife, keeping a mistress, collecting debts and gambling with mahjong. Conflicts between Lao Yang and his children escalate.

A retired widow has her daily routine derailed when she starts receiving mysterious, anonymous phone calls.

Actress-turned-director and first-time producer Xu Jinglei presents her third feature film, titled Dreams May Come. Like her widely acclaimed directorial piece Letter From An Unknown Woman, Dreams May Come also stars Xu as the female lead. Written by top Chinese novelist Wang Shuo, witty dialogues between a TV actress and a TV director occupy over 90% of the film’s running time. The actress is tired of good-girl roles in TV dramas and wants to quit, but the director persuades her not to.