We all know true-crime is one of the most popular genres at the moment. There are documentaries and “based on true story” shows and movies coming out left and right but where most tell the story of the serial killer or a victim of a crime, HBO is bringing audiences a more critical approach. 

“Mind Over Murder,” directed by Nanfu Wang, tells audiences the story of a complex murder case from the horrific event, through the investigation, the trial, and the exoneration of those accused, as well as, highlights how this too-bizaree-to-be-true case divided a rural community. 

READ MORE: ‘Summer Of Hope’ Wins The Grand Prize: Full Karlovy Vary 2022 Award Winners

Wang grew up in China where her family didn’t have a television in their house until she was 10 years old.

Continue reading ‘Mind Over Murder’ Exclusive Clip: A Tragedy Within A Tragedy In Nanfu Wang’s New True-Crime Docuseries at The Playlist.

How does someone document the onset of a raging pandemic? Director Nanfu Wang found herself tasked with that very question; her response is the Sundance 2021 selection “In The Same Breath.”  The documentary is an unflinching look at Wuhan during the COVID pandemic’s earliest days. It’s a  portrait of how one city confronted the unknown while also focusing on the human toll that is sometimes forgotten. It sounds like something you may want to avoid, we’ve all faced so much emotional trauma, but you watch five seconds of this trailer and you are gripped.

Continue reading ‘In The Same Breath’ Trailer: Nanfu Wang Chronicles The Pandemic’s Early Days In A Harrowing New Documentary at The Playlist.

In 1979, China rolled out its notorious one-child policy, banning its citizens – with some exceptions – from having more than one child. Part of an extensive birth-planning program, aiming to control a population nearing 1 billion in size and thus stretch limited resources further, it was the most extreme measure of its kind. In 2015, to improve the balanced development of the population and to tackle an aging population, China abolished the rule. Even though the government is under immense pressure to end restrictions altogether, it returned to a two-child policy similar to that enforced for a decade between 1969 and 1979.

Continue reading ‘One Child Nation’: A Gripping But Overstuffed Snapshot Of China’s One-Child Policy [Review] at The Playlist.

For years, China had taken extreme measures to control its population growth. One of those measures was the One Child Policy, which limited the families in the country to only having one child. Thankfully, that terrible law was ended in 2015, but the effects of the policy live on, as seen in the upcoming documentary, “One Child Nation.”

And in honor of “One Child Nation” arriving in theaters on August 9, we are happy to give you an exclusive look at a clip from the film, which illustrates exactly what the One Child Policy was such a horrible, and heart wrenching, law for China’s people.

Continue reading ‘One Child Nation’ Exclusive Clip: Filmmaker Nanfu Wang’s Sundance Award-Winning Doc Examines China’s Terrible One Child Policy at The Playlist.

From 1979 until 2015 China controlled its population through its notorious one-child policy. The name, in more than one way, is a misnomer. In theory, a one-child policy simply limits the number of children a family can have to one. But the reality of the policy was far more devastating. Not only were women given forced abortions, but they were often sterilized against their will, while children were taken from families and sold to orphanages.

Continue reading Grand Jury Prize Winner ‘One Child Nation’ Uncovers A Traumatic History [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

When filmmaker Nanfu Wang happens upon the voluntarily-homeless Dylan Olsen in a Florida hostel, she finds him not only tolerable, but fascinating enough to spend an indeterminate amount of time following him across the country as the subject of a documentary. Now, if I happened upon Dylan Olsen at a Florida hostel (or anywhere, really), approximately sixty seconds of conversation with the bleach-blonde vagabond would be about all I could handle.

Continue reading Nanfu Wang’s ‘I Am Another You’ Is A Deceptive Self-Portrait [Review] at The Playlist.