She Dances by the Sea

Chinese poet Xiuhua Yu, who has cerebral palsy, became instantly famous when her poems went viral on social media. When it happened she was stuck in a violent and loveless marriage in rural China. Director Jian Fan’s award-winning 2016 documentary Still Tomorrow followed her throughout her breakthrough year, when she gained the financial freedom to end her marriage. All that was missing was love.

Now, eight years later, she has fallen in love for the first time. And just like her breakthrough as a poet, it happened online, where she met Yang on a livestream. It wasn’t long before people on the internet started criticizing their relationship— they questioned what a handsome young man was doing with a disabled older woman.

While the first film grappled with whether fame would solve her problems, this sequel asks whether love will be the answer. It’s soon clear that their fairy tale relationship was too good to be true, and Yu has to fight for her freedom all over again.