Xi Lin, a ballet dancer who firmly believes in non-marriage, meets and falls in love with a rock singer, Chen Ye, after an unexpected encounter. Defying her own principles, she chooses to marry him. However, an unplanned pregnancy soon derails her life. During her confinement in her husband’s rural family home, the suffocating pressures of her relationship with her mother-in-law push her deeper into despair. In the end, during childbirth, a tragic medical incident—rooted in patriarchal traditions and institutional negligence—takes her young life. Her death becomes a catalyst for legal and social progress, paving the way for countless Chinese women to reclaim the right to govern their own destinies.
by Wenjing Xing (China)
Cal Film Festival 