Writer/director Lulu Wang's family drama The Farewell is one of the most critically and commercially successful films of the year, first debuting to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival, then scoring a magical summer box office run for a film of its modest indie stature. But the hype inevitably had to die down. That said, three months after opening in theaters, it's still playing on a handful of screens.
On Monday night, Wang apparently held a Q&A for the one moviegoer who showed up to the 10:15pm showing of The Farewell at the Angelika Film Center in New York City. Wang says she and her best friend wanted to see her deeply personal film "as real audience members" at a theater where they've seen countless film together. It so happens that there was one other person in attendance. So the director surprised him with a Q&A.
Here's Ms. Wang introducing the film. It is adorable:
I took my best friend to the Angelika last night to see @thefarewell as real audience members in a theater where we’ve seen countless films together over the years. 10:15 showing on a Monday night. There was one other audience member there and I surprised him with a Q&A 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/SkNJOBk1Nh
— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) October 15, 2019
But how did the Q&A go?
"Based on an actual lie," The Farewell centers on Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi, who returns to Changchun to find that her family has decided not to tell their beloved matriarch Nai Nai that her cancer diagnosis has left her with mere weeks to live. To assure her happiness, they gather under the joyful guise of a wedding. The film stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Yongbo Jiang, Shuzhen Zhao and Hong Lu.
If you missed it in theaters, well, you can apparently still catch it somewhere and maybe even be lucky enough to get a one-on-one Q&A with the director. Otherwise, The Farewell will be released on digital platforms on October 29, and drops on Blu-ray/DVD on November 12.
