Shosh Shlam is a director and producer. She has directed several documentaries, including “Last Journey into Silence,” “Good Garbage,” and “Web Junkie.”

Hilla Medalia is a producer, director, and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. Her credits include “To Die in Jerusalem,” “After the Storm,” “Numbered,” “Dancing in Jaffa,” “Web Junkie,” “Censored Voices,” and “Muhi: Generally Temporary.” Medalia has received three Emmy nominations.

“Leftover Women” will premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival on April 27.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

SS&HM: In 2007, the Chinese Ministry of Education added to the official lexicon the term “leftover women,” which describes educated women in big cities who are over 26 years old and still single.

The film follows three women contending with the stigma and social pressure forcing them to go on a grueling quest in search of “Mr. Right.”

W&H: What drew you to this story?

SS&HM: On the evening of International Women’s Day in 2015, the Chinese government arrested five feminist activists and jailed them for 37 days for handing out stickers against sexual harassment. This aggressive act led us to take a closer look at women’s rights in China.

This is the second film we’ve made together in China. Our first, “Web Junkie,” was about internet addiction. During our research, we found out about the phenomenon of “leftover women.” This term and its consequences are the result of a government campaign that promotes sexist messages and the revival of gender inequality in post-socialist China. This is what urged us to go on this journey.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

SS&HM: We look forward to sharing the film with different audiences and participating in a cultural exchange, providing the viewer with a rare glimpse into the life of successful Chinese women today, as well as some of the challenges they are facing. We wish for people to leave the theater and think of women’s rights and the women around the world who are still fighting for those rights.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

SS&HM: The biggest challenge was finding the women. We met many women, most of whom were very open in one-on-one conversations with us but weren’t ready to be filmed. It almost felt like they came to meet us so they could share what was in their heart.

For many of the women who agreed to be filmed, their families were against them participating in our film, and we couldn’t continue with them. This shows how the whole concept of unmarried women is a very sensitive issue in China.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made. 

SS&HM: The beginning is always hard, and these days most funders require seeing footage in order for us receive the funds. The issue was that when we found a woman we wanted to follow, we couldn’t film her one day, look for funds, and come back six months later—once we found a woman, we had to follow her on her journey. So at the beginning, we basically followed HuaMei without any funds. Then we cut a reel and started raising the funds so that we could follow two more women, as well as for post-production.

The funds for the film came together through a combination of sources, like a puzzle. Early on, we brought Vesna Cudic from Met Film Sales on board. She was essential in securing the financing to our film. The main core of our funding came from exploiting territories, including yesDocu and ARTE ZDF as our main partners.

We have pitched the film at several markets, including CPH, Copro, IFP, and HAF, and we’ve secured pre-sales to YLE, SVT, VPRO, DR, and NRK. We have also received grants from Fork Films and The New Fund for Film and TV, and when we got to our first rough cut, we brought on board an equity investment from K’s Galleries.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

SS&HM: A film can reach a very large and international audience, and the impact can be significant. Our belief is that documentary filmmaking can raise a voice that is silent and enlighten a dark place. This is what inspired us to become filmmakers.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

SS&HM: One of the best pieces of advice we got is to come to the filming after you have done deep research and put the narrative on paper. Then, when you come to film, you know what you want.

The worst advice is to let other people convince you about what’s best for the film. No one knows better than you. Even if you make the worst mistake, it is yours and you own it.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

SS&HM: Our best advice is to find strong characters and create a trusting relationship with them, enabling sensitive and intimate access to their point of view. Also, work with great people; making a documentary is a long journey, and often it is very challenging, so it is important to have good people around you.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

SS&HM: Agnès Varda’s entire body of work. She is a pioneer filmmaker. Her films focus on documentary realism, addressing feminism and social issues with a distinctive experimental style. Varda gave a voice to people that are in the margins of society, to the outsiders that are struggling and completely powerless. She was connected to those that society saw as contemptible figures. Her philosophy was that we, as documentary filmmakers, are gleaners of images, conversations, confessions, and lives of other people, and that this is reflected in our films.

Varda once said, “In my films I always wanted to make people see deeply, I don’t want to show things but give people the desire to see.” Her vision and her films are a spirit for us, and we will miss her dearly.

W&H: It’s been a little over a year since the reckoning in Hollywood and the global film industry began. What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?

SS&HM: It seems that more festivals and more funders and organizations are working towards the 50/50 by 2020 goal. However, there is still a long way to go.

In China, #MeToo was late to begin, but it exploded on social media in 2018. It only hit the headlines in 2017. But it is growing because the government keeps finding new ways of asserting control over the private lives of women. One of these is the recent ban on freezing the eggs of single women. We hope our film generates discussion and a feeling of solidarity with Chinese women.