Lulu Wang and “The Farewell” are collecting another honor in advance of the film’s release. Wang is set to receive Sundance Institute’s 2019 Vanguard Award, the Los Angeles Times confirms.
Given in recognition of an “emerging artist who embodies visionary storytelling and engages audiences in fresh and exciting ways,” the award’s previous honorees include Dee Rees (“Mudbound”) and Marielle Heller (“The Diary of a Teenage Girl”).
Wang will receive her honor June 26 at the LA premiere of “The Farewell.”
Based on an actual lie, “The Farewell” sees U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) returning to Changchun, China and being pressured to go along with a morally ambiguous ruse. Doctors have revealed that the family’s matriarch, Nai-Nai, has mere weeks to live. Everyone knows — except Nai-Nai herself, and the family intends to keep it that way. To ensure that her final days are happy ones, they celebrate an expedited wedding as an excuse to bring the family together.
“The Farewell” is Wang’s second feature. The Beijing-born, American-raised filmmaker made her feature debut with 2014 Brit Marling-starrer “Posthumous.”
“We’re excited to celebrate the power of Lulu’s artistic vision in writing and directing ‘The Farewell,’” said Michelle Satter, founding director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. “As a Fellow at our 2017 FilmTwo Initiative for second-time feature filmmakers, we had the honor of supporting Lulu’s journey on this deeply personal film which engaged enthusiastic audiences at the recent Sundance Festival. We’re thrilled to benchmark her journey with this year’s Vanguard Award, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.”
“The Farewell” made its world premiere at Sundance in January, and has been on the festival circuit since, racking up honors such as Atlanta Film Festival’s Audience Award and Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Directors to Watch Award.
When we asked Wang what inspired her to become a filmmaker, she said, “I’m a classically trained pianist and a writer, but both end up being very solitary professions. I love the collaborative nature of film, and it still allows me to tap into my passion for writing and music.”
