Jurgis Matulevičius’ China Sea gets a trailer

Film Jam in collaboration with Con Artist, Ma Studios, Lava Films and Bionaut are proud to celebrate the World Premiere of Jurgis Matulevičius’ China Sea, as part of the Critics’ Picks Competition, at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on 18th November.

Martial arts champion Osvald (Repšys) accidentally injures a girl on the street and is expelled from the sports federation. Unable to travel and participate in tournaments in Asia, where he is famous, Osvald is forced to stay in his desolate hometown in East Europe, tormented by guilt. He spends his days in a cheap Asian restaurant “China Sea”owned by his only remaining friend, a Taiwanese immigrant Ju-Long (Huang). Attending group psychotherapy sessions prescribed by court, Osvald meets a mysterious woman Skaiste (Janušaauskaité) and feels intensely drawn to her. Searching for redemption and desperate for love, he begins to lose touch with reality. Clinging to what he has at all costs, Osvald resorts to violence again, this time, not by an accident.

China Sea is the first-ever co-production between Lithuania and Taiwan, featuring a unique cast ensemble of well-known actors from both countries, who perform in a hybrid dialect that blends Mandarin and Lithuanian. Speaking on this monumental collaboration, producer Ieva Cern said “In this political climate, it is a great pleasure for a country like Lithuania to have as co-producers not only our close European partners from Poland and the Czech Republic, but also Taiwan — a country we deeply relate to and that has brought an absolutely outstanding cast to the film.”

Written by Saulė Bliuvaitė, who’s debut feature Toxic won Best Film and Best Debut at Locarano 2024, China Sea was developed as part of ScripTeast. Inspired by real events, the film offers a powerful commentary on toxic masculinity.

Directed by Jurgis Matulevičius (Isaac), the film stars Marius Repšys (The Saint), Severija Janušaauskaité (Isaac, Lotus, Babylon Berlin), Jian Huang / ⿈健瑋 (Life of Pi, Wave Makers), Vaidotas Martinaitis (Stranger Things), Sonia Yuan / 袁⼦芸 (Drive My Car, Wave Makers) and Yi-ching Lu / 陸弈靜 (To the Sea, What Time Is It There?).

China Sea celebrates its World Premiere in competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on 18th November.

Director’s Statement:

“CHINA SEA is not only the name of the Taiwanese restaurant where our main character spends his days with the family who runs it. It is also a borderline between you and your dreams. Every character in this movie must cross it in order to reach their goals. Everyone crosses their own sea.

This film is based on a true story of a fighter from Lithuania. He was a kickboxing world champion and a very troubled human being. Ten years ago, he was killed near his house. It is not just a story about him; it is a story about a generation of men my age who grew up in poor neighbourhoods surrounded by violence, anger, and fear. We were searching for role models in men who hid their feelings under a mask of masculinity, and we learned to do the same. There was hardly any respect for fellow human beings. Bullying, fighting, and humiliation were all we knew. It was our defence mechanism against the violent, toxic world we lived in. As we grew up, this psychological trauma, along with our inability to cope, left a scar on our lives. For some of us, it was just a phase of our teenage years. We managed to grow from it, finding role models and learning to respect those around us. But some of us never truly grew up. They remained those angry teenagers trapped in men’s bodies.

This story is about a man who is still that angry teenager, deeply hurt because nobody loved him and no one ever cared about him. He does not know how to express his feelings. He grew up in a world of toxic masculinity, not knowing how to behave in a different environment. It is a movie about his journey to change and his experience of loneliness. It explores what it is like to find yourself caught between two worlds, without fully understanding either of them.

It also tells the story of people who are stuck and trying to find a way out of their current state. They all dream about something that is on the other shore of the China Sea.

It also tells a story about people who are stuck and trying to find a way out from the present state. They all dream about something that is on the other shore of the China sea.

It’s always nice to be in Tallinn where my first feature Isaac premiered. I think through the years it became a very strong A class festival, because of their bold and unconventional film selection.”

– Jurgis Matulevičius, Director