A Film by Liang Ming CHINA | 2019 | 104 MIN | 1.85 | 5.1 | COLOR WISDOM TOOTH SALES CONTACT Parallax Films CAO Liuying | [email protected] | +86 13621949272 SYNOPSIS Gu Xi is about to lose her job because of undocumented citizenship status. While making use of all her social connections in her effort to get official registration papers, she also faces another challenge: getting along with her brother’s new girlfriend, Qingchang. As winter sets in and temperatures plunge, the relationship between Gu Xi, her brother Gu Liang, and his girlfriend becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to freeze over itself. Meanwhile, more trouble brews as a dead body is found floating in the sea, and a mysterious tape repeatedly brings Gu Xi to flit back and forth across the boundary of youth and adulthood. What she doesn’t know is that she is about to lose everything. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes 1:9 Although God may see the world this way, it’s impossible for us as individuals to look down on the world from a higher plane. From our individual perspective, each day is new. This is especially true of our emotions, as it is impossible for one to truly experience the emotions of another. So we borrow the perspective of a young girl to understand the world: the ocean, polluted by an oil spill; the intruders in her quiet life; an unwillingness to give up her homeland and a yearning for distant places; the unsolved puzzle of her own life; the meaning of religion; the struggle of various interests at sea; the dead fishermen; a security guard who kills his boss; her first encounter with a sex scene; her brother, taken away by the police; the relationship between China, South Korea and North Korea; the truth revealed by a tape... Everything she sees and experiences forces her to grow up quickly, but the world seems to be getting both clearer and vaguer at the same time. As the truth floats to the surface, her inner world can no longer remain hidden. She and her love, like her wisdom tooth, will eventually break free of their bonds, welcoming the pain brought as they fall out into the light of day. In that moment, she is born again. Regardless of whether the world is at peace or in turmoil, we will eventually see into our own hearts and touch our own souls. Under the sun, true emotion is never extinguished, but will carry on forever. FILM LOCATION The film is shot in Donggang, Liaoning - a city on China’s northwestern border, where a Han and ethnically Korean population mix together. BACKGROUND In 1999, a sudden oil spill led to the widespread contamination of coastal waters off Donggang. Fishermen were forced to ground their boats, and many went out of business. This covert plot parallels the gradually unfolding events of the film. Here, the dangers of crime and emotion exist alongside one another, as businessmen forcibly occupy and monopolize fishing waters, extorting “boat fees” as a form of protection money from the local fishermen. “ Slippery and surprising, full of odd details and insights, and leaching significant visual and thematic texture from its unusual setting, Liang Ming’s Wisdom Tooth must be one of the year’s most remarkable debuts. ” Jessica Kiang Variety “There’s much to admire in this intriguing, textured account of simmering sibling tensions, secrets and jealousy. ” Wendy Ide Screen International “Reminiscent of Burning by South Korean master Lee Chang- dong and of The Dreamers by Bernardo Bertolucci, for its treatment of an ever shifting ménage à trois. ” Giovanna Fulvi Programmer of Toronto International Film Festival DIRECTOR/WRITER LIANG Ming Trained as an actor at Communication University of China, Liang Ming starred in several award-winning films including Lou Ye’s Spring Fever (2009 Cannes Competition) and Shadow Days (2014 Berlin Forum). He later turned his interests into directing, and worked as an assistant director on Lou Ye’s Mystery (2012 Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival). Wisdom Tooth is Liang Ming’s directorial debut, and premiered at the 3rd Pingyao International Film Festival In 2019. The film won both Fei Mu Awards for Best Director (Chinese-language Competition) and Roberto Rossellini Awards for Jury Award (International Competition), a rare feat in the history of the festival. Filmography Shadow Days (2014) Actor Mystery (2012) — Assistant Director Spring Fever (2009) — Actor PRODUCER Sean CHEN Independent producer and co-founder of L’Avventura Films, Sean Chen has produced both of Vivian Qu’s award-winning films Trap Street (2013 Venice Critics’ Week) and Angels Wear White (2017 Venice Competition). He won the Best Film Award at the 54th International Antalya Film Festival, and received Best Film nominations at the 54th Golden Horse Awards and the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. He also executive produced Night Train (2007 Un Certain Regard, Cannes) and consulted on the Golden Bear winning Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014 Berlinale). Filmography Angels Wear White (2017) — Producer Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014) — Consultant Trap Street (2013) — Producer Night Train (2007) — Executive producer SCRIPT ADVISOR MEI Feng Screenwriter, director and lecturer, Mei Feng has written several of Lou Ye’s films including Summer Palace (2006 Cannes Competition), Spring Fever (2009 Cannes Competition), and The Shadow Play (2018 Berlin Panorama). He won the Best Screenplay awards at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, the 40th Golden Horse Awards, and the 7th Asian Film Awards. In 2016, he directed his first film Mr. No Problem, which won the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival. Filmography The Shadow Play (2018) — Writer Mr. No Problem (2016) — Director, Writer Mystery (2012) — Writer Spring Fever (2009) — Writer Summer Palace (2006) — Writer CAST Celeste LV ······················································ GU Xi WU Xiaoliang ········································ GU Liang WANG Jiajia ·········································· Qingchang WANG Weishen ··········································· Dongzi TAO Hai ················································ Boss JIANG CHEN Yongzhong ··················· Qiangchang’s Father PRODUCTION Shanghai Tao Piao Piao Movie&Tv Culture Co.,Ltd Youku Pictures Co., Ltd Beijing Comprehensive Films COPRODUCTION Beijing China Film Director’s Guild Cultural Development Inc Tianjin Happy Entertainment Film Media CREW DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY LIANG Ming ·············································· Mystery (2012) , Shadows Days (2014) PRODUCER SUN Yang ··················· Singing When We Are Young (2013) , Lost in Ganga (2019) PRODUCER Sean CHEN ··································· Trap Street (2013) , Angels Wear White (2017) DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY HE Shan ·································· The Coffin in the Mountain (2014) , Villain (2017) ART DIRECTOR WONG Kalun ········································· Lan Yu (2001) ,The Grandmaster (2013) COSTUME DESIGNER MA Hongwei ······························ Ala Changso (2018) , Lhamo and Skalbe (2019) SOUND ZHANG Jinyan ···························································· Shanghai Dreams (2005) LONG Xiaozhu ···························································The Looming Storm (2017) EDITOR Jolin ZHU ·································· Blind Massage (2015) , Dying to Survive (2018) MUSIC DING Ke ····································· Port of Call (2015) , The Looming Storm (2017) PARALLAX FILMS | http://www.midnightblurfilms.com/ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @Parallax_China.