DOXA Documentary Film Festival returns with a jam-packed 2025 program. This year the film festival runs from May 1 – May 11 and Chinatown Today is pleased to co-present the BC premiere of the documentary, Mistress Dispeller, directed by Elizabeth Lo. You can purchase tickets here.
From the director:
In filming this fractured love story, something indefinable around longing, loneliness and regret sprang from its cracks. By eschewing camera movement and holding shots for unconventionally long amounts of time, Mr. Li, Mrs. Li and Fei Fei were allowed to feel comfortable enough to reveal deeper layers of themselves as they struggled with shortcomings I found all too relatable: the repression of emotion, the difficulty of expression, the excitement of connection, the dread of abandonment…
In an era of increasing polarization between the US and China, it was important to me as a Hong Kong citizen to make a documentary film that bridges this divide rather than alienating people and cultures from one another. By investigating an experience that is at once universally familiar and uniquely specific to contemporary China, I hope to ask what it means to hurt, to heal, to fear loneliness, and to love, in the 21st century.
Teacher Wang in office – photographed by Emma D. Miller
Film synopsis:
Desperate to save her marriage, a wife hires Teacher Wang, a “mistress dispeller,” to drive a wedge between her husband and his new lover. As part of China’s growing industry dedicated to saving marriages through emotional manipulation, Wang’s methods expose the deep complexities of infidelity. Elizabeth Lo’s observational style provides unscripted access to candid conversations, revealing each person’s motivations through Wang’s subtle interventions. While the premise suggests scandal, Lo shifts focus to a compelling character study exploring marriage, loyalty, and the lengths people go for love and control.
Elizabeth Lo 罗宝 – Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Co-Editor
Elizabeth is a filmmaker whose documentary films have been showcased by Sundance, IDFA, SXSW, Tribeca, MoMA, AFIFest, True/False, NewYork Times Op-Docs, Field of Vision and PBS’ POV. Elizabeth has been featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” DOC NYC’s “40Under40,” and Cannes Lions’ “New Directors Showcase.” She is a recipient of artist fellowships from Locarno, New York Film Festival, Yaddo and MacDowell, and was selected for the Concordia Studio Fellowship and Gotham/HBO Documentary Development Initiative. Her debut feature, Stray, won Best International Feature at Hot Docs and received nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards and Cinema Eye Honors after premiering at Tribeca in 2020. A New York Times “Critic’s Pick,” Stray was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures and is now streaming on Hulu. Her short films — including Hotel 22, Bisonhead, and Mother’s Day — have been acquired by colleges and libraries worldwide. Elizabeth holds a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and an MFA from Stanford University. She was born and raised in Hong Kong.
Purchase Tickets here
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