Yahoo News ‘Youth (Spring),’ Wang Bing’s Cannes Documentary On Twenty-Something Chinese Garment Workers, Acquired By Icarus Films
Icarus Films has taken North American rights to Youth (Spring), the newest feature from Venice prizer winner Wang Bing, which earlier this year became one of the first documentaries admitted to Cannes’ main competition in decades. A release date has not yet been disclosed.
Soon to screen at both the New York Film Festival and TIFF, the doc shot over the course of five years is set in Zhili, China, 120 miles from Shanghai. In this city dedicated to textile manufacturing, young workers come from rural regions crossed by the Yangtze River. They are in their early 20s, sharing dormitories and snacking in the corridors. They work tirelessly to be able one day to raise a child, buy a house, or set up their own workshop. Friendships and romantic affairs are made and unmade according to the seasons, financial difficulties, and family pressures.
More from Deadline
The film from House on Fire, Gladys Glover Films, and CS Production was produced by Sonia Buchman, Mao Hui, Nicolas R. De La Mothe and Vincent Wang. Wang Yang exec produced, with Gilles Chanial, Denis Vaslin, Fleur Knopperts, Wang Jia and Qiao Cui serving as co-producers.
Said Icarus Films President Jonathan Miller, “For 45 years we have been dedicated to the distribution of the finest, creative, and engaged documentary films by many renowned documentary filmmakers, and amongst them, Wang Bing stands tall. We are honored to again be entrusted with the care of Wang’s film and with bringing this to North American audiences.”
Perhaps best known for his nine-hour doc Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks on turn-of-the-century industrial China, Bing also this year took the film Man in Black to Cannes. Other recent titles from the filmmaker include Beauty Lives in Freedom and Dead Souls.
Miller negotiated the deal for Youth (Spring) on behalf of Icarus Films, with Agathe Mauroc for Pyramide International.
Best of Deadline
SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements: Full List Of Movies And TV Series
2023 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
