The Breaking Ice

Set in the cold of winter in Yanji, a town on China's northeastern border with Korea, we follow the blossoming relationship between three young adults in their twenties. Young urbanite Haofeng (Liu Haoran) travelling from Shanghai for a wedding arrives to find he feels lost and adrift. By chance he goes on a tour led by Nana (Zhou Dongyu), a charming guide who instantly fascinates him. Nana introduces him to Xiao (Qu Chuxiao), a restaurant worker, and over the course of a weekend the three quickly bond and find friendship as they confront their individual traumas, and their desires slowly thaw. Underscored by a refreshing soundtrack, this introspective journey of Gen Z youth is an arresting and delicate poem about existential angst and nostalgia from award-winning Singaporean writer-director-producer, Anthony Chen. 

FESTIVALS & AWARDS: 

Official Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cannes International Film Festival 2023

(Marie-Pierre Richard, programme curator & co-organiser, East Asia Film Festival Ireland & EAFFI Discoveries) 

“Arresting...frozen emotion and sexual tension on North Korean border.” The Guardian