“Girls on wire”, interview with director Vivian Qu

February 22, 2025

Vivian Qu is back at the Berlinale, this time in competition with Girls on Wire, a multi-genre film on two cousins fighting to escape their fate.

“Girls on wire”, interview with director Vivian Qu Chiara Nicoletti

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Chinese writer, director and producer, Vivian Qu is back at the Berlinale to present in competition, “Girls on Wire“.

Renowned producer, she won the Golden Bear for her production “Black Coal Thin Ice“ and at this 75th edition, as a director, she brings a women story.

After “Angels wear white“, presented in Venice competition in 2017, the director is again portraying two women, in particular two cousins who are trying to escape the dramatic fate that has been designed for them.

As confirmed by Qu, the message of the film is crystal clear from the title: All women are “Girls on Wires” and the film aims to showing women’s strength and resilience in every situation.

Plot

ousins Tian Tian and Fang Di were raised like sisters until family struggles pushed them apart. Fang Di moves away to work as a stuntwoman in China’s largest film studios to clear her family’s debts. Tian Tian remains behind, forced to deal with her father’s addiction, and falls prey to the local mafia. Forced to escape to the Film City, Tian Tian seeks out her cousin. Thrown together against their will and fol- lowed by the mob, they will need to combine their strength and resilience to escape a dramatic fate that threatens to consume them both.

Written by: Chiara Nicoletti

Guest

Vivian Qu