“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, will open the Galas section of the 9th Pingyao International Film Festival, which has unveiled its 2025 official selection spanning Hidden Dragons, Crouching Tigers, Galas, Made-in-Shanxi, Special Presentations and Cinephile strands.
The Galas program features a strong international slate, including Fukada Kôji’s “Love on Trial,” Miyake Sho’s “Two Seasons, Two Strangers,” Mendonça Filho Kleber’s “The Secret Agent,” Roustayi Saeed’s “Woman and Child,” Mariko Tetsuya’s “Dear Stranger,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Dominik Moll’s “Case137,” and Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind.”
In Hidden Dragons, first and sophomore features dominate with Yan Kun-ao’s “Jet Lag in Summer,” Meng Xing’s “Happy Girls,” Li Dongmei’s “Guo Ran,” Tan Siyou’s “Amoeba,” Qi Yanyan’s documentary “The Toddling Youths,” Zheng Xusong’s documentary “A Long Way Home,” Zhang Zhongchen’s “Nighttime Sounds,” Shen Ko-shang’s “Deep Quiet Room,” Njo Kui Ying’s “#4 Road to Vendetta,” Ng Kai Chung Tommy’s animated “Another World,” and Luo Yan’s “West Border.”
Crouching Tigers brings international discoveries, among them Max Walker-Silverman’s “Rebuilding,” Kinoshita Baku’s animated “The Last Blossom,” Davies Jr. Akinola’s “My Father’s Shadow,” Valéry Carnoy’s “Wild Foxes,” Juan Branco’s “The Massacre of Gilles de Rais,” Sven Bresser’s “Reedland,” Fujimoto Akio’s “Lost Land,” Yoon Ga-eun’s “The World of Love,” Laura Wandel’s “Adam’s Sake,” Seto Momoko’s animated “Dandelion’s Odyssey,” and Hasan Hadi’s “The President’s Cake.”
The Made-in-Shanxi showcase highlights local talent with Song Lei’s “The Awkward Life of Mulan,” Yan Song’s “Prophetic Dreams,” Gu Ying’s “A Woman in Their Eyes,” Miao Zhuangzhuang’s “Daughters,” Kong Jiahuan’s “A Falsetto Boy,” and Wei Dongchen’s “On the Road.”
Special Presentations include Andrea Segre’s “The Great Ambition” and companion short “Us and the Great Ambition,” Kim Dong-ho’s documentary “Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema,” Feng Xiaogang’s “A World Without Thieves,” and Zhang Dalei’s short “Happy New Year Mr. Wood.”
The Cinephile section completes the lineup with Yu Shui’s animated “Nobody.”
The 9th Pingyao International Film Festival runs Sept. 24–30.