The Chinese producer Zhang Shuo introduced the film The Last Summer, which is part of the Main Competition of the 48th Moscow International Film Festival.
The film tells the story of how, just days before her fateful college entrance exam, the world of straight-A student Li Zhizhi comes crashing down when she catches her father with a pregnant woman. Shocked, the girl accidentally knocks an ashtray off the balcony, hitting a five-year-old girl playing below. Caught between the grieving family of the killed girl and her parents’ excessive expectations, Zhizhi soothes her guilt along with her anger over her father’s "betrayal". But the truth turns out to be much deeper.
Zhang Shuo: "For this film, we chose a non-professional actress, and I think it worked really well in the end. Perhaps because this girl’s personality is very similar to her character’s: she also went through a difficult time when she was taking her high school graduation exams. And for all spectators in China, this is definitely a very meaningful story, because for us, graduation exams are a very painful experience".
The film tells the story of how, just days before her fateful college entrance exam, the world of straight-A student Li Zhizhi comes crashing down when she catches her father with a pregnant woman. Shocked, the girl accidentally knocks an ashtray off the balcony, hitting a five-year-old girl playing below. Caught between the grieving family of the killed girl and her parents’ excessive expectations, Zhizhi soothes her guilt along with her anger over her father’s "betrayal". But the truth turns out to be much deeper.
Zhang Shuo: "For this film, we chose a non-professional actress, and I think it worked really well in the end. Perhaps because this girl’s personality is very similar to her character’s: she also went through a difficult time when she was taking her high school graduation exams. And for all spectators in China, this is definitely a very meaningful story, because for us, graduation exams are a very painful experience".