The Missing Gun (2002), written and directed by Lu Chuan (Kekexili, Mountain Patrol (2004; City of Life and Death (2009)) and starring Jiang Wen (Red Sorghum (1987), Black Snow (1990), In the Heat of the Sun (1994), Devils on the Doorstep (2000), Let the Bullets Fly (2010)) and Ning Jing (In the Heat of the Sun (1994), Chinese Odyssey (2002), 1911 (2011)). A black comedy and Lu Chuan's debut at the Beijing Student Film Festival, the film tells the tale of a policeman's search for his lost gun before it is used in a crime. Attracting some official criticism for its use of Sichuan dialect rather than Mandarin, the film was released in Shanghai as the first digital screening in China. Whilst the film has the feel of boutique production it earned over RMB1 million in its first week on official release in Beijing and was selected for The 59th Venice Film Festival.

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