Queens of the Qing Dynasty

Queens of the Qing Dynasty
Directed by	Ashley McKenzie
Produced by	Britt Kerr Nelson McDonald Ashley McKenzie
Written by	Ashley McKenzie
Starring	Sarah Walker Ziyin Zheng
Music by	Cecile Believe Yu Su
Cinematography	Scott Moore
Edited by	Ashley McKenzie Scott Moore
Production company	Hi-Vis Film
Release dates	February 15, 2022 (2022-02-15) (Berlinale)
Running time	122 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Queens of the Qing Dynasty is a Canadian drama film, directed by Ashley McKenzie. It premiered on February 15, 2022, as a part of the Encounters program at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. It had its Canadian premiere in the Wavelengths program of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

The film stars Sarah Walker as Star, a troubled teenager who has been hospitalized following a suicide attempt, and Ziyin Zheng as An, a genderqueer volunteer at the hospital whose companionship and friendship helps Star to feel less isolated as they bond over their shared uncertainties about their futures.

Cast

• Sarah Walker as Star
• Ziyin Zheng as An
• Wendy Wishart as Gail
• Jana Reddick as social worker
• Yao Xue as Violet
• Cherlena “Sassi” Brake as Cher
• Reg MacDonald as charge nurse
• Carl Getto as psychiatrist
• Nidhin KH as boyfriend
• Rony Robson as OR nurse

Production

At the time of production, Sarah Walker was a first-time film actress. Her character (Star) was based on a teenager who auditioned for a role in McKenzie's prior film Werewolf; To prepare for her role, Walker spent time with the teenager, who McKenzie had become friends with.

Critical response

Jared Mobarak of The Film Stage positively reviewed the film, writing, "I wouldn’t go so far as saying Queens of the Qing Dynasty is an acquired taste. You simply need to be prepared that the words 'swift' or 'kinetic' aren't descriptors I'd use. It's purely about the characters as well as the place where it's set since 'fun' is getting drunk at a Chinese restaurant, not some big city club. Because while Star and An fantasize and joke about wishing they could become trophy wives of old, their roads are not paved in gold. Having each other sitting shotgun, however, does make the trip a whole lot brighter. And experiencing their queer characters candidly existing on-screen without the usual miserabilism of external abuse looming large (their internal hardships and uncertainty lends enough drama) is reason enough to follow along."

For The Movable Fest, Stephen Saito wrote, "McKenzie certainly has an aesthetically distinctive vision as a filmmaker, but what shouldn’t be so unique yet is remains her rare ability to neither look down on her characters or make them subjects of pity when working their way out of dire straits, following Star and An into their private spaces without ever feeling as if she’s encroaching and allowing Walker, Zheng and even those with the smallest bit parts suggest far bigger lives off-screen than the glimpse you get will afford."

Awards

The film was shortlisted for the Directors Guild of Canada's 2022 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award. It won three awards at the 2022 FIN Atlantic Film Festival, for Best Atlantic Feature, Best Atlantic Director and the Joan Orenstein & David Renton Award for Outstanding Performance in Acting (Walker). It was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Achievement in Costume Design.

External links

• Queens of the Qing Dynasty at IMDb