Synopsis

In an effort to escape her troubled past, Jin Xia, a Chinese woman, marries a Korean man named Lee Seung-hun in exchange for legal status in South Korea. One night, Xia encounters a green-haired girl enveloped in an enigmatic aura and becomes involved in the dangerous world of drug dealing. Attracted to the girl for some inexplicable reason, Xia takes her home and the two end up killing Seung-hun in a not-so-accidental accident. The pair go on the run, but Xia returns to the crime scene to retrieve the drugs the green-haired girl left behind...

Curator’s Note

Starring renowned Asian actresses Fan Bingbing and Lee Joo Young, Green Night is the second feature directed by talented female Chinese filmmaker Han Shuai that premiered at Berlinale 2023 Panorama and was presented by the Busan International Film Festival gala.

Setting in South Korea, the film tells a story about a Chinese woman who is oppressed by her Korean husband and develops a love affair with a mysterious green-haired Korean girl who leads them on a thrilling adventure. Each night drive becomes a canvas for encounters and evolves of rebellion, symbolising the protagonist's and the director's pursuit of independence and subjectivity development.

Draws inspiration from her childhood experience living in a port city in China across Incheon(仁川）, witnessing women embark on a journey across the ocean, Han Shuai (2023) shares, "This new plight fueled the rekindling of my imagination of those women’s adventures. I hope to revisit their unshakable determination with this story and find the courage to face the faceless ghost”. (Shiying Liu & Yiiang Lin)

Director’s bio

Han Shuai is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. Her debut feature SUMMER BLUR won the Grand Prix in the Generation Kplus competition section at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Award in the New Currents section at the 2020 Busan International Film Festival, Jury Award at the 2020 Pingyao International Film Festival’s Feimu Awards section, Best Director and Best Actress for newcomer HUANG Tian in the Firebird Young Cinema competition at the 2021 Hong Kong International Film Festival. Han Shuai is also the author of New Impressions Cinema: The Aesthetics of Lou Ye’s Films, published by the Phoenix Education Publishing, Ltd. She holds a Ph.D. in Theater and Cinema Studies from the Central Academy of Drama, China.

Director’s Note

I was born in a port city in China across from the South Korean city of Incheon, separated by the sea. As a child, I saw many women embark on a journey across the ocean, driven by their unshakable determination to earn a better wage in Korea and escape the anxiety they faced in their hometown. Many of them never returned. To some, their disappearance seemed gratuitous, but I soon inferred it must have been a conscious choice they made after enduring repression of their dreams and desires. As a young girl, I often wondered about their adventures in an unknown land, even feeling a yearning for their journey. As I grew up, started working, and got married, I noticed changes in the way women were positioning themselves in the world. Although it seemed like women had more say in various aspects of life, they were still subject to condescending scrutiny. Our attempts at freedom were pre-approved and pre-tolerated by the ghost of an unseen power. This new plight fueled the rekindling of my imagination of those women’s adventures. I hope to revisit their unshakable determination with this story and find the courage to face the faceless ghost.

Festival & Awards
The film was premiered at the Berlinale 2023 Panorama. It was selected for the 2023 Busan International Film Festival Gala Presentation

Casts

Fan Bingbing, Lee Joo Young

Credits

Screenplay: Han Shuai, Lei Sheng

Producers: Liu Ziyi, Wang Jing

Director of Photography: Matthias Delvaux Kim Hyun

Seok Gaffer: Lee Dong Jin

Sound Supervisor: Zhu Yunhao

Production Designer: Lee Hwa Sung

Costume Designer Yi: Choongyun

Head of Make-up and Hair Kye Seonmi

Editing: Tom Lin

Music: Hank Lee

Colorist: Tang Qiang