Poet-turned-filmmaker Li Hongqi directs this incisive, deadpan comedy about four aimless teens during the last days of winter break in a small industrial town in northern China. Favorably compared to the work of Jim Jarmusch, Li’s camera lingers on the kids bitching and bickering as the clock ticks away on their holiday. Their idleness, however, is far from uneventful, and the brilliant young cast illustrates how the awkwardness, absurdity, and hilarity of growing up transcend national and cultural boundaries. Winter Vacation comes to us fresh from New Directors New Films and won the coveted Golden Leopard for Best Film at the 2010 Locarno Film Festival.
"...in Li's world, existence is a series of absurdist situations..."
– Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine
