When director Bai Xue (白雪) graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 2007, she had no film to make on her plate. She then married her schoolmate and became a mother. In 2014 a story about Hong Kong - Shenzhen cross-border students caught her eye and piqued her interest for a film plot. After two years of research and onsite interviews, she finalized the script for The Crossing. With the instrumental help of her mentor, the veteran auteur Tian Zhuangzhuang​ (The Blue Kite), and through Jia Zhangke​'s Green Onion Assistance Program, she successfully lined up Wanda Pictures as her investor. Bai's husband and her mentor teamed up to be producers. The Crossing hit domestic and international cinemas in 2019 and immediately garnered praise. Acutely written, confidently directed, and brilliantly acted by a cast of both Mainland and Hong Kong talents, Bai's debut feature depicts an underworld of parallel trading and the struggle of dual identity in a new generation of border crossers.

Peipei is born out of wedlock. Her father is a Hong Kong man with a family while her Mainland mother lives in Shenzhen. Every morning Peipei passes through border immigration to go to school in Hong Kong and returns home to Shenzhen at night. Eager to travel to Japan with her best friend, she is desperate to raise cash. Her daily commute through the customs checkpoint is commonplace and uneventful until a stack of iPhones is shoved into her hands while a smuggler runs away from the chasing police. A phone call to her follows and Peipei has to decide what to do with the iPhones.

The film won Best Picture and Best Actress awards at the 2nd Pingyao International Film Festival. It was nominated for Best First Feature at the 69th Berlin Film Festival and Best Picture in Discovery category at Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.

Film

The Crossing​ 过春天

Written and Directed by

Bai Xue 白雪

Executive Producers

Tian Zhuangzhuang 田壮壮

He Bin 贺斌

Starring

Huang Yao​ 黄尧

Sun Yang 孙阳

Elena Mei-ye Kong​ 江美仪

Ni Hongjie 倪虹洁

Language

Cantonese, Mandarin with English subtitles

Run Time

1h 39m