International Trailer for Hu Bo's Acclaimed 'An Elephant Sitting Still'

"The world is a wasteland…" An international trailer has arrived online for the highly acclaimed film An Elephant Sitting Still, a film by Chinese filmmaker Hu Bo. This is Bo's first & final film, as he tragically took his own life last year after finishing the film. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize and a Best First Feature "Special Mention", and it has played at numerous other festivals including New Directors/New Films in NYC, plus the Sydney and Edinburgh Film Festivals, and is heading to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival next. The film actually runs nearly 4 hours in total, and tells a story across one day, linking the stories of various characters in one town. The focus is on bullying and the way people affect each other. Starring Yuchang Peng, Yu Zhang, Uvin Wang, and Congxi Li. This brief trailer does have English subtitles, but it's all about the filmmaking that makes it a must see for cinephiles.

Here's the first international trailer (+ poster) for Hu Bo's An Elephant Sitting Still, from YouTube

In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves. Among them is schoolboy Bu, on the run after pushing Shuai down the stairs, who was bullying him. Bu's classmate Ling has run away from her mother and fallen for the charms of her teacher. Shuai's older brother Cheng feels responsible for the suicide of a friend. And finally, along with many other characters whose fates are inextricably bound together, there's Mr. Wang, a sprightly pensioner whose son wants to send him to a home. In virtuoso visual compositions, the film tells the story of one single suspenseful day from dawn to dusk, when the train to Manzhouli is set to depart. An Elephant Sitting Still is both written and directed by Chinese filmmaker Hu Bo, his feature directorial debut after a few short films and novels. Hu Bo passed away last year, this is his final film. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. It still has no US release date set yet - stay tuned.