Turning Red

Synopsis

Whilst Turning Red has been previously available on Into Film+, we are currently unable to screen this film due to reasons related to licensing.

Growing up can be a turbulent journey. Mei Lee, a thirteen-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl, helps her mother look after a temple dedicated to their ancestor Sun Yee. Feeling pressured by her mother to be a dutiful and high-achieving daughter, Mei hides her personality and interests from her parents - notably her crush on a local shop’s clerk and her love for the boy band 4* Town. Keeping her passions hidden from her mother becomes a challenge when Mei Lee unexpectedly turns into a giant, fluffy red panda every time she experiences strong emotions. Initially worried Mei’s strange behaviour is due to the start of puberty, they disclose that this red panda transformation has been experienced by all the women in the family and that the affliction can be removed with a ritual that must be performed on the Lunar eclipse in a month’s time. Turning Red is a funny, heartwarming, and thoughtful film about generational knowledge and the complicated experiences of young girls at a pivotal time in their development. It is also a much-needed layered story that centres East Asian experiences.