Documentary about Chinese Alzheimer’s sufferer wins Locarno Film Festival’s top prize
Wang Bing takes the Golden Leopard award for his exploration of the final days of a dementia sufferer living in rural China
A new documentary by the Chinese director Wang Bing was awarded the Golden Leopard prize at the 70th annual Locarno Festival held in Switzerland on Sunday.
Mrs Fang looks at the final days of a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s in an impoverished village in southern China, and the impact on her relatives, friends and neighbours in the tight-knit rural community.
The hard-hitting documentary and portrait of death has been praised for daring to break long-held taboos surrounding mourning and mental illness in China.
The festival’s prize jury was led by the renowned French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, who recently directed Personal Shopper, starring Kristen Stewart.
Originally born in Xi’an, Wang is today regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of Chinese documentary filmmaking and has several international prizes under his belt. His films are known for their unflinching portraits of working-class Chinese life.