DIRECTED BY VIOLET DU FENG
Spanning past and present Hidden Letters follows two millennial Chinese women, connected by their fascination with the secret language of sisterhood and their desire to protect it.
WATCH
PBS INDEPENDENT LENS | Airing March 27
To screen the film for your educational group or institution:
THEATRICAL & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
ONE WORLD INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FESTIVAL | PRAGUE, CZECHIA
Mar 24, 3:30PM, Světozor Cinema, Tickets
Mar 30, 8:30PM, Ponrepo Cinema, Tickets
ACT HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL | FORT COLLINS, U.S.A.
Mar 30, 6:00PM, The Lyric, Tickets
PORT TOWNSEND FILM FESTIVAL | PORT TOWNSEND, U.S.A.
Apr 22, 10:15AM, Rosebud Cinema, Tickets
Apr 23, 6:30PM, American Legion Hall, Tickets
Spotlight Award Nominee
16th Cinema Eye Honors
Best Feature Documentary Shortlist
38th IDA Documentary Awards
Best Norwegian Documentary
Bergen International Film Festival
Grand Prize - Documentary Feature
Heartland International Film Festival
Special Jury Award
Nordic / Docs
Documentary Feature Jury Winner
Audience Award - Feature Film
Austin Asian American Film Festival
International Documentary Grand Jury Prize
Matt Decample Audience Choice Award
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
IN THE PRESS
"fiercely potent"
"smartly subversive"
"elegantly crafted"
-- Variety
"moving"
-- VOGUE
"★★★★☆"
-- The Guardian
"...a magnificent portrait of women in China."
-- Film Threat
"...an extraordinary film, masterfully conceived."
"If there is such a thing as 'female gaze' within filmmaking,
Feng has captured it."
"You may very well not see a more beautifully realized documentary in 2022."
Oscars: Tales of Artistry, Environmental Activism and Political Struggle Lead the Documentary Feature Race
-- The Hollywood Reporter | January 5, 2023
WATCH: "Nushu: The secret language men don't know"
-- BBC Culture | November 8, 2022
LISTEN: "'The Arts Hour - The BFI London Film Festival 2022"
-- BBC World Service | October 15, 2022
"‘Hidden Letters,’ About China’s Women-Only Secret Language, Acquired by Cargo Film & Releasing, Trailer Unveiled"
-- Variety | October 14, 2022
FILMMAKERS
VIOLET DU FENG | DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Violet Du Feng is a documentary filmmaker and a 2018 Sundance Creative Producing Fellow. She produced DEAR MOTHER, I MEANT TO WRITE ABOUT DEATH, SINGING IN THE WILDERNESS, CONFUCIAN DREAM, MAINELAND, and PLEASE REMEMBER ME, which have won many awards including Doc Impact Hi5, Special Jury Awards at SXSW and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Feng started her career as a co-producer on the 2007 award-winning NANKING. She is the consulting programmer of Shanghai International Film Festival. HIDDEN LETTERS is her second feature-length documentary as a director.
QING ZHAO | CO-DIRECTOR
Zhao Qing is the director of the award-winning PLEASE REMEMBER ME, supported by the Sundance Documentary Fund, IDFA Bertha Fund and the Britdoc Connect Fund. She started her career at Shanghai Media Group in 1991, where she directed and produced many television documentaries affiliated to the Documentary Channel of SMG. She directed and hosted several popular TV documentary programs such as “The Bund” and “Documentary Editing Room.”
METTE CHENG MUNTHE-KAAS | PRODUCER
Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning producer, interactive producer and editor of feature documentaries. Through Ten Thousand Images she produced NO WORD FOR WORRY (2014) and NOWHERE TO HIDE (2016), which won over 20 awards including the first prize at IDFA, and was nominated for 2 Emmys. Her recent co-productions have won numerous international awards including Best Documentary at the Berlin International Film Festival for MYANMAR DIARIES (2022).
JEAN TSIEN | PRODUCER
Jean Tsien is a documentary editor, producer, and consultant. She received two Peabody Awards in 2021: for executive producing the PBS series ASIAN AMERICANS; and for producing 76 DAYS, winner of a 2021 Primetime Emmy. She produced FREE CHOL SOO LEE, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Tsien is a recipient of the 2018 Art of Editing Mentorship Award presented by Sundance Institute; a Lifetime Achievement Award at DOC NYC’s 2020 Visionaries Tribute; and the 2021 IDA Pioneer Award.
SU KIM | PRODUCER
Su Kim is a documentary producer in New York City and a 2015 Women at Sundance Fellow. Su received the Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award in 2021. She is the producer of FREE CHOL SOO LEE that premiered at 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Her recent films MIDNIGHT TRAVELER premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival; and HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING, which won Best Documentary at the 2018 Gotham Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
FILMMAKERS
Fish+Bear Pictures
SPEAKING REQUESTS
GOOD DOCS
FESTIVAL DISTRIBUTION (N. AMERICA)
Jeffrey Winter, The Film Collaborative
SALES (N. AMERICA)
David Piperni, Cargo Films & Releasing
FESTIVAL DISTRIBUTION (WORLD)
Morgan Magid, Cargo Film & Releasing
SALES (WORLD)
Emma Fiske-Dobell, Cargo Films & Releasing
