The Farewell trailer: First look at A24 family drama starring Awkwafina
A24 has released the official trailer for their upcoming family drama The Farewell, offering a first look at Awkwafina’s character Billi as she finds it difficult to keep an important secret from her beloved grandmother. The film is scheduled to have its theatrical release on July 12.
Directed and written by Lulu Wang, The Farewell follows the story of a Chinese-American woman named Billi, who goes to China after her grandmother, Nai Nai has been diagnosed with a terminal lung cancer. Billi’s family chose to kept the illness from Nai Nai due to a Chinese saying. In order to get the family together without the matriarch knowing the real reason of the sudden gathering, they’ve organized a sham wedding as an excuse to spend time with her before she dies.
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The film’s story was based on Wang’s her own family experience that she first shared on an episode of This American Life. It stars Awkwafina (Ocean’s 8, Crazy Rich Asians) as Billi, Tzi Ma as Haiyan, Diana Lin as Jian, Zhao Shuzhen as Nai Nai, Lu Hong as Little Nai Nai, and Jiang Yongbo as Haibin.
The Farewell was produced by Big Beach’s Peter Saraf, Marc Turteltaub, and Dani Melia, and Anita Gou along with Depth of Field’s Chris Weitz and Andrew Miano. Eddie Rubin executive produced the film. A24 has successfully acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film, beating out Netflix, Amazon Studios and Fox Searchlight.
The film had its world premiere earlier this year at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival last January 25.
