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“Dìdi,” a coming-of-age drama that won the American Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance, has been sold to Focus Features. The semi-autobiographical film was written, produced and directed by Sean Wang in his first feature film.
The film follows a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy in the midst of an awkward adolescence, as he enjoys the last month of summer before high school starts. He experiences the pains of first love, befriends some skaters (after promising to make videos of them), fights with his older sister, and comes to understand his hard-earned mother. It’s set in 2008, when MySpace was still around and TikTok hadn’t blown up yet.
Wang says he hopes audiences can see a version of themselves in the film, starring Izaac Wang as the filmmaker’s cinematic alter ego and Joan Chen (“The Last Emperor”) as his on-screen mother.
“Dìdi (弟弟) is the movie I always wanted to see: a coming-of-age story set in a place I know, starring people who look like the ones I knew, during a time when we are the worst versions of ourselves. ourselves. having the time of our lives,” he said in a statement. “It’s been a dream to see the film resonate with so many others since our premiere at Sundance.”
Kiska Higgs, president of production and acquisitions at Focus Features, added: “Everyone at Focus saw a little bit of themselves in Dìdi, so we’re eager to share Sean Wang’s brilliant vision of a Californian misfit with audiences around the world. world, who will also fall in love with 13-year-old Wang-Wang as he stumbles through high school.”
“Didi” was a critical success after its debut at Sundance. Varieties Peter Debruge compared it to “a cross between Bing Liu’s ‘Minding the Gap’ and Jonah Hill’s ‘Mid-90s'” and wrote that the film’s “appeal has a lot to do with the balance between the universal and the unique.” in Wang’s experience.
Consequence of Sound also liked the film, writing: “Sean Wang, as writer and director, has proven to be an excellent entry into the ‘call your mother’ cinematic canon. He doesn’t flinch from the darker or more problematic aspects of early adolescence, but he ultimately balances them expertly by handling his messy protagonist with generosity and care.”
Wang’s short documentary “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)” premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. The film was acquired by Disney+ (where it is scheduled to premiere in February) and was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary short film.
The deal was negotiated by WME Independent and UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.
Focus Features’ 2024 lineup includes Morgan Neville’s documentary “Piece by Piece,” which captures the life of Pharrell Williams through the lens of Lego bricks; “Drive-Away Dolls,” by director Ethan Coen; and the Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black.”