The Farewell (2019 film)

The Farewell
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lulu Wang
Written by	Lulu Wang
Produced by	Daniele Melia Marc Turtletaub Peter Saraf Andrew Miano Chris Weitz Jane Zheng Lulu Wang Anita Gou
Starring	Awkwafina Tzi Ma Diana Lin Zhao Shu-zhen
Cinematography	Anna Franquesa Solano
Edited by	Michael Taylor Matthew Friedman
Music by	Alex Weston
Production companies	Ray Productions Big Beach Depth of Field Kindred Spirit
Distributed by	A24
Release dates	January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25) (Sundance) July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12) (United States)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Mandarin English
Budget	$3 million[1]
Box office	$23.1 million[2]

The Farewell (Chinese: 别告诉她; pinyin: Bié Gàosu Tā; lit. 'Don't Tell Her')^[3] is a 2019 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Lulu Wang. It stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, and Zhao Shuzhen. The film follows a Chinese American woman named Billi, who learns her grandmother, Nai Nai, has only a short while left to live. Billi's family has decided to schedule a family wedding before Nai Nai dies to enable her to see all the family one last time, and not tell Nai Nai of her fatal illness.

The film is based in part on director Wang's life experiences, which she first publicly discussed as part of her radio story What You Don't Know, which appeared as part of an episode of This American Life. The film was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival^[4] and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019, by A24. It received widespread acclaim from critics, with particular praise for Wang's screenplay and the performances of Awkwafina and Zhao Shuzhen. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards the film was nominated for two awards including Best Foreign Language Film, with Awkwafina winning for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. The Farewell has dialogue in both English and Mandarin Chinese.