Gu You Plans Fourth Film as Trilogy Closes at Busan
Director Gu You planned three films. He is now preparing a fourth.
Gu You told Variety that research and development is already under way on another instalment in his Chinese landscape-painting series, Variety. He had initially envisioned only three films when he began under the credit Gu Xiaogang.
The next film may not stay purely art-house, a term for smaller, director-led films made for specialist cinemas. Gu You said it could lean toward genre, with elements of romance, the road movie — a story built around a journey — or suspense, according to Variety.
The news lands as The First Taste of Loneliness world-premieres in competition at the Busan International Film Festival, Variety reported. The film follows three generations of women who face loneliness for the first time after the death of a much-loved father. It stars Zhou Xun, Xi Meijuan and Wang Shengdi.
The story moves across the Qiantang River to an old apartment where the three women live together, according to the festival programme, Busan International Film Festival. Busan lists the title as a 2026 film from China directed by Gu You in its Competition section, Busan International Film Festival. It completes the Landscape trilogy after Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains and Dwelling by the West Lake.
The First Taste of Loneliness is a China-France co-production, produced by Hangzhou Shanshui Films with France's Tandem Films. Tandem will release the film in France. Shan Zuolong and Du Kexin produced, with a screenplay by Gu You with Yang Yikun. Losange Films handles international sales, the business of selling screening rights to buyers outside the home country.
The first two parts travelled widely. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains played Cannes Critics' Week in 2019 and became the first Chinese-language film to close that section. Dwelling by the West Lake competed at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023 and opened the Beijing International Film Festival the following year. Gu You has also received the Kurosawa Akira Award as its youngest recipient.
The new film takes its title from a Teresa Teng song that plays toward the end of the story. This year's Busan Competition section features 14 films from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Indonesia.
What makes this stand out for audiences is the pivot. The Busan premiere closes a trilogy rooted in place and family. The fourth film points to a broader set of tools.
