Pingyao Festival Sets 10th Edition Lineup With Fei Mu Restoration, Films From Cristian Mungiu, James Gray

The Pingyao International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 10th edition, with a 4K restoration of Fei Mu’s 1948 classic “Spring in a Small Town” opening the anniversary program and Hong Kong dramedy “Good Trip” set to close it.

The festival, founded by Jia Zhangke in Shanxi province, will run Sept. 24-30. “Good Trip,” directed by Norris Wong Yee Lam and Hoi Wong, will have its mainland China premiere as the closing film.

Jia’s own short “Torino Shadow,” an Italy-China co-production, will screen as part of a Fenjiu Night presentation and mark an Asian premiere. The Cinephile strand will feature Keane T.K. Wong’s Hong Kong title “Afterpiece.”

The Hidden Dragons competition includes three world premieres: Malaysian director Kethsvin Chee’s “Dead Tide,” Chengjie Cai’s “Suzhou Quartet” and Niu Niu’s “Final Payment.” The section also features Dongnan Chen’s documentary “Whispers in May,” a Netherlands-Sweden-South Korea-Hong Kong co-production, and Zou Jing’s France-China co-production “A Girl Unknown.”

The Crouching Tigers section spans a wide geographic range, with entries including Colombia-Portugal co-production “Gemstones” from Simón Vélez, Russian director Anastasia Kuzina’s “Bo Bo” and Philippines-Singapore-France-Netherlands-U.K. co-production “Filipiñana” from Rafael Manuel on which Jia is an executive producer. The lineup also features Rwanda-Gabon-France-Norway co-production “Ben’Imana,” from Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, and multi-country production “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep,” directed by Rakan Mayasi.

The Galas section brings together established auteurs, including Cristian Mungiu’s Cannes-winning Norway-Romania-Sweden-Finland-Denmark-France co-production “Fjord,” James Gray’s U.S. title “Paper Tiger” and Marie Kreutzer’s Austria-France-Germany-Sweden co-production “Gentle Monster.” South Korean director Na Hong-Jin’s “Hope” and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beloved” will both have mainland China premieres, while Fernando Eimbcke’s “Flies” and Kent Jones’ “Late Fame” mark China premieres.

Special Presentations will showcase Liu Wenpu’s world premiere “A Better Jianghu” alongside a 4K restoration of Allen Fong’s 1986 film “Just Like Weather.” A restoration of festival juror Ann Hui’s (Hui On Wah Ann) 1981 film “The Story of Woo Viet” anchors the East-West Contribution strand.

Marking the festival’s 10-year milestone, PYIFF has built out several retrospective sections. The Pingyao 10 Years·Tributes strand pairs the “Spring in a Small Town” restoration with Pan Yilin’s new documentary “Echoes of Fei Mu,” alongside Roberto Rossellini’s 1959 film “Generale Della Rovere” and Alessandro Rossellini’s 2020 documentary “The Rossellinis.” A memorial program will screen restorations of “Phony Phoenixes,” which includes a video introduction recorded by the late Tony Rayns, and “Aces Go Places,” dedicated to the memory of Nansun Shi, the driving force behind the film, alongside Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” dedicated to the memory of producer Simon Field.

A separate Pingyao 10 Years·Start From Pingyao Corner strand traces the trajectories of filmmakers first spotted in the festival’s short-film program, pairing early shorts with the directors’ subsequent Hidden Dragons features, including Wei Shujun’s “Only the River Flows” and Kong Dashan’s “Journey to the West.”

FULL 10TH PYIFF OFFICIAL SELECTION

OPENING FILM
“Spring in a Small Town” (4K restoration, 1948) – China, dir. Fei Mu – Asian premiere

CLOSING FILM
“Good Trip” – Hong Kong – dir. Norris Wong Yee Lam, Hoi Wong – mainland China premiere

FENJIU NIGHT SPECIAL PRESENTATION
“Torino Shadow” (short) – Italy/China – dir. Jia Zhangke – Asian premiere

CINEPHILE
“Afterpiece” – Hong Kong – dir. Keane T.K. Wong

HIDDEN DRAGONS
“Whispers in May” (documentary) – Netherlands/Sweden/South Korea/Hong Kong – dir. Dongnan Chen – Asian premiere
“Zoom In, Zoom Out” – China – dir. Dong Jie – Asian premiere
“Replica” (documentary) – Australia/France – dir. Chouwa Liang – Asian premiere
“Dead Tide” – Malaysia – dir. Kethsvin Chee – world premiere
“Light Pillar” – China – dir. Xu Zao – Asian premiere
“Admission” – Taiwan – dir. Quentin Hsu – Asian premiere
“Suzhou Quartet” – China – dir. Chengjie Cai – world premiere
“We Are Born Good” – Hong Kong – dir. Yeung Leung Chuen – Asian premiere
“Final Payment” – China – dir. Niu Niu – world premiere
“A Girl Unknown” – China/France – dir. Zou Jing – Asian premiere

CROUCHING TIGERS
“Gemstones” – Colombia/Portugal – dir. Simón Vélez – Asian premiere
“Bo Bo” – Russia – dir. Anastasia Kuzina – international premiere
“Filipiñana” – Philippines/Singapore/France/Netherlands/U.K. – dir. Rafael Manuel – Asian premiere
“Against Nature” – Mexico – dir. Axel Bertha – Asian premiere
“Congo Boy” – Central African Republic/France/Democratic Republic of the Congo/Italy – dir. Rafiki Fariala – China premiere
“The Days Off” – Argentina/Brazil/Mexico/France – dir. Lucila Mariani – Asian premiere
“Promised Spaces” – France/Germany/Serbia/Cambodia – dir. Ivan Marković – Asian premiere
“Forest High” – Belgium/France – dir. Manon Coubia – Asian premiere
“Ben’Imana” – Rwanda/Gabon/France/Norway – dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo – China premiere
“Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep” – Belgium/Lebanon/Palestine/Qatar/Saudi Arabia – dir. Rakan Mayasi – Asian premiere

GALAS
“Flies” – Mexico/Spain – dir. Fernando Eimbcke – China premiere
“Late Fame” – U.S. – dir. Kent Jones – China premiere
“The Beloved” – Spain – dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen – mainland China premiere
“Good Trip” – Hong Kong – dir. Norris Wong Yee Lam, Hoi Wong – mainland China premiere
“Gentle Monster” – Austria/France/Germany/Sweden – dir. Marie Kreutzer – China premiere
“Hope” – South Korea – dir. Na Hong-Jin – mainland China premiere
“Fjord” – Norway/Romania/Sweden/Finland/Denmark/France – dir. Cristian Mungiu – Asian premiere
“Paper Tiger” – U.S. – dir. James Gray – Asian premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
“A Better Jianghu” – China – dir. Liu Wenpu – world premiere
“Just Like Weather” (4K restoration, 1986) – Hong Kong – dir. Allen Fong – Asian premiere

EAST-WEST CONTRIBUTION
“The Story of Woo Viet” (4K restoration, 1981) – Hong Kong – dir. Ann Hui (Hui On Wah Ann) – Asian premiere

PINGYAO 10 YEARS·TRIBUTES
“Spring in a Small Town” (4K restoration, 1948) – China – dir. Fei Mu – Asian premiere
“Echoes of Fei Mu” (documentary, 2026) – China – dir. Pan Yilin – world premiere
“Generale Della Rovere” (1959) – Italy/France – dir. Roberto Rossellini
“The Rossellinis” (documentary, 2020) – Italy/Latvia – dir. Alessandro Rossellini

PINGYAO 10 YEARS·MEMORIAL
“Phony Phoenixes” (restoration, 1947) – China – dir. Huang Zuolin – mainland China premiere – includes a video introduction recorded by the late Tony Rayns
“Memoria” (2021) – Colombia/Thailand – dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul – dedicated to the memory of producer Simon Field
“Aces Go Places” (1982) – Hong Kong – dir. Eric Tsang – dedicated to the memory of Nansun Shi

PINGYAO 10 YEARS·START FROM PINGYAO CORNER
“Break” (2019, short, 3rd PYIFF) paired with “Zoom In, Zoom Out” (2026, 10th PYIFF) – dir. Dong Jie
“The Ray of Sunshine” (2019, short, 3rd PYIFF) paired with “A Song Sung Blue” (2023, 7th PYIFF) – dir. Geng Zihan
“Goodbye, Mr. Kong” (2017, short, 1st PYIFF) paired with “Journey to the West” (2021, 5th PYIFF) – dir. Kong Dashan
“Mother Eden” (2019, short, 3rd PYIFF) paired with “Farewell, My Hometown” (2021, 5th PYIFF) – dir. Wang Erzhuo
“On the Border” (2018, short, 2nd PYIFF) paired with “Only the River Flows” (2023, 7th PYIFF) – dir. Wei Shujun
“Lili Alone” (2021, short, 5th PYIFF) paired with “A Girl Unknown” (2026, 10th PYIFF) – dir. Zou Jing