Renowned Sixth Generation master filmmaker Wang Xiaoshuai (Red Amnesia, PSIFF 2015), a champion of urban realism, brings to light the trauma that ordinary people go through when confronted with situations out of their control. In this family saga spanning three decades, once-happy couple Yaojun (Wang Jingchun) and Liyun (Yong Mei) lose their son in a drowning accident. Years later, their adopted teenage son runs away from home, reopening old wounds. Set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution, Wang’s powerful, wrenching epic illustrates how married couples had to adjust to the grand economic and social changes that took place in China in the 1980s, when forced abortions and prison terms for those who defied the one-child policy were the norm.

Winner: Best Actress, Best Actor, Berlin