Shanghai Daughter Debuts at Berlinale Panorama with Unique Take on Cultural Revolution

Agnis Shen Zhongmin's debut feature film, Shanghai Daughter, premieres this week in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival. The movie follows Ming, a woman from Shanghai, as she travels alone to a rubber tree plantation in Xishuangbanna on China's southwestern border. There, half a century ago, her late father was sent during the Cultural Revolution as part of the Down to the Countryside Movement. The film mixes elements of fiction and documentary to explore family history and hidden stories from that era.

Background

The Cultural Revolution shook China from 1966 to 1976. Millions of young people from cities were sent to rural areas under the Down to the Countryside Movement. The goal was to learn from peasants and transform society. Many ended up in remote places like Xishuangbanna, a tropical region near the borders with Laos and Myanmar. Rubber plantations there became sites of hard labor for these urban youth.

Agnis Shen Zhongmin grew up in Shanghai, born in 1985. She studied film directing and screenwriting at Tongji University. Before making films, she wrote short story collections like Notes on Shanghai Geography, Deep Simulator, and A Traveler’s Desire. She also worked as a journalist and newspaper editor. Later, she moved into contemporary art, literature, and film. Her work often looks at how inner thoughts connect to the outside world.

Shanghai Daughter is her first full-length film. It was picked for the WIP section of the Shanghai International Film Festival's SIFF PROJECT in 2025. The story centers on Ming's trip to the plantation where her father once worked. She searches for a mystery person but meets others who share stories from the past. The film runs 94 minutes and uses Mandarin and Dai language.

Xishuangbanna's rubber trees cover vast areas. They were key to China's economy in the 1960s and 1970s. Workers tapped latex from the trees in tough conditions—hot, humid weather and isolation from cities. Sent-down youth like Shen's father faced years away from home, building roads, farming, and harvesting rubber. Many never returned the same.

Key Details

Shen Zhongmin wrote, directed, and produced the film. Other producers are Xu Ruijing and Liao Yong. Pu Wei handled cinematography. Liang Cuishan stars as Ming. The movie blurs lines between made-up scenes and real events. Shen sees the plantation as a natural stage holding all the needed details for the story.

Production and Style

Filming took place in Xishuangbanna. The director drew from her own family history. Her father was one of those sent to the plantation. She traveled there herself to trace his steps. The result is a quiet journey film. Ming walks through misty forests and old worker camps. She talks to locals who remember the sent-down youth.

The film avoids big dramatic moments. Instead, it lets places and people speak. Rubber trees stand tall, their trunks scarred from tapping. Rain falls often, mixing with memories. Strangers Ming meets include former workers and their families. They share letters, photos, and oral histories never told before.

"The plantation is a geological theater that already contained all the information of the scripts." – Agnis Shen Zhongmin

This approach lets the landscape tell much of the story. No heavy narration guides viewers. Sounds of birds, wind in leaves, and tapping knives fill the screen. Ming's search uncovers not just her father's past but layers of lives changed by the movement.

The Berlinale screening marks a big step for Shen. Panorama often features bold new voices. Past films there have gone on to wider releases and awards. Shanghai Daughter fits with its fresh look at Chinese history.

What This Means

Films like this bring personal stories from China's past to global screens. The Cultural Revolution remains sensitive in China. Official accounts focus on achievements, but private memories differ. Shanghai Daughter adds to works that quietly revisit those years through family lenses.

For Shen Zhongmin, the premiere opens doors. Her background in writing and art gives her films a distinct style. Viewers at Berlinale will see how she turns a personal quest into universal themes—loss, memory, and place.

The movie could spark talks on the Down to the Countryside Movement. Millions were affected. Survivors now share more as time passes. Plantations like Xishuangbanna's still operate, but with machines, not youth labor.

Beyond festivals, Shanghai Daughter may reach theaters or streaming. Its mix of languages and slow pace suits art-house crowds. It highlights Dai culture in Xishuangbanna, with its ethnic minorities and border life.

Shen plans more projects. Her focus on inner and outer worlds suggests future films will explore similar ground. For now, the Berlinale debut puts her on the map. Ming's journey ends not with answers but with connections—to land, people, and ghosts of the past.

The film runs under two hours but packs decades of weight. It shows how history lingers in soil and trees. As China moves forward, stories like this keep the past alive.