Duet

14' | 2021 | Black & White

An unspoken romance inevitably resurfaces when a high school music teacher meets an old colleague again and decides to perform together for the first time as piano duet partners after they’ve long since drifted apart from each other.

Duet is a story about a reckless dreamer and a fearless realist, inspired by women in classical music. Written and directed by Shae Xu, produced by Chuxin Huo, starring Mingyi Zhang, Lipei Gao, Xuan Zhong & Wenyi Wei. Cinematographer: Fei Yang, Sound Designer: Gary Kwan, Composer: Kat Vokes.

Ruen's home scenes were shot in one of the last shikumen houses in Old Town Shanghai a few weeks before its evacuation for commercial reuse; meanwhile Sun Rui's party was filmed in a mansion in the International Settlement that's up for sale for more than 58 million dollars. If buildings have memories, we have now become a part of it. Special thanks to Mr. Sun Xiaogang, Mr. Jiang Lijun and Mrs. Tao Xiulan's family.

Duet_2021FEB_7副本.jpg — *Duet* won DGA’s Grand Prize 2020 Student Film Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in the Women’s Category. It’s been nominated for Marion Carter Green Award and the NBR Student Grant.
Being a part of the ASCAP/Columbia Film Scoring Workshop, our composer received the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Jimmy van Heusen Award.