SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS

Official Selection, 2019 FIRST International Film Festival
Official Selection, 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival

Single in her late 20s, with a name meaning “surpass men” in Chinese, journalist Sheng Nan might be considered a “leftover woman” by some in Chinese society. But when Sheng Nan (Yao Chen) discovers she has ovarian cancer, all she wants is to have some quality sex before surgery renders her unable to enjoy it in the same way again. 

To pay for the surgery, Sheng Nan has agreed to ghostwrite the autobiography of dying millionaire Mr. Li (Yang Xinming), who has a rather Zen take on life and death. Tagging along for the ride is Sheng Nan’s menopausal mother Meizhi (Wu Yufang) who is on a parallel journey to find love after discovering her husband has been unfaithful for a decade. As sparks fly between Mr. Li and her mother, Sheng finds a potential candidate in an intriguing photographer she meets on the ferry.

SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS’s title references a poem from the 18th-century Chinese literary classic Dream of the Red Chamber, a contemplation on desire and death. Set against stunning and surreal backdrops, Teng Congcong’s feature debut explores Chinese womanhood between reality and escape, agency and surrender, frustration and the ongoing and turbulent quest for fulfillment.