The Films of Wang Xiaoshuai: “So Long, My Son” and “Above the Dust”

Filmmaker Wang Xiaoshuai joins Asia Society on March 22nd and 23rd for the New York premiere of his first two films in a time-spanning trilogy examining the emotional fallout of 20th century Chinese history.

So Long, My Son
Wang Xiaoshuai, China, 2019, 185 min.
In Mandarin with English subtitles.
March 22, 2025 at 4:15 p.m.

So Long My Son traces the lives of two families over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Following the loss of a child in a tragic accident, their paths separate. Destinies ebb and flow, and fortunes are transformed under the impact of a country’s changing face. Yet even as their lives diverge, a common search for truth and reconciliation around the tragedy remains. But sometimes it can take a lifetime to say farewell. So Long My Son chronicles people and a society in full transformation - in which human relationships and the tumultuous evolution of a nation are inevitably and inextricably intertwined (The Match Factory).
Introduced by Wang Xiaoshuai.

Above the Dust
Wang Xiaoshuai, China, 2024, DCP, 122 min.
In Mandarin with English subtitles.
March 23, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.

Ten-year-old Wo Tu dreams of having a water pistol like other boys in his village. Even though his father promised, he fails to bring one from the city. But there is one hope for Wo Tu: his dying grandfather assures him to grant him the wish as a ghost. After his death, the old man visits the boy in his dreams, initiating a treasure hunt. Soon, the limits between reality and dream, past and present, become more and more blurred. A portrait of the profound love for the land, across three generations of a family in modern Chinese rural life (The Match Factory).
Followed by a Q&A with Wang Xiaoshuai.