Film Forum has announce the US theatrical premiere of Lou Ye’s AN UNFINISHED FILM on Friday, March 14.

Using outtakes and on-set footage from SUZHOU RIVER and other films (SPRING FEVER, MYSTERY, THE SHADOW PLAY), and casting real actors from these films to play themselves, Lou creates an intense yet playful catharsis for filmmakers, artists, and, ultimately, all of us — a chance to revisit that time, and to heal.

In this enthralling, poignant docufiction, director Lou Ye (SUZHOU RIVER) and his crew reunite in Wuhan in January 2020 to complete a film started a decade earlier. When the first wave of COVID precipitates lockdown and fear, this story of revived artistic vision pivots to a thriller-paced account of the early spread of the virus — both the devastation and the deep connections borne of shared isolation.

AN UNFINISHED FILM had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section and was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, MoMA Doc Fortnight, and more.

In a career spanning almost twenty-five years, Lou Ye has established himself as a daring filmmaker and resolute voice working under censorship in China, often encountering harsh consequences and bans from making and showing his work.

In the first week of this engagement, Film Forum will present select screenings of four Ye films referenced in AN UNFINISHED FILM – SUZHOU RIVER (2000), SPRING FEVER (2009), MYSTERY (2012), and SHADOW PLAY (2018).