Time and Tide picked up by Paris sales firm Inwave Films

Vee Shi’s first feature, Time and Tide, is getting a new push onto the global market after Paris-based Inwave Films took on international sales for the film, the company said.

The hybrid nonfiction feature has already had a busy festival run. It premiered earlier this year in competition in the Burning Lights section at Visions du Réel, then won the Documentary Australia award at the Sydney Film Festival. Its next stop is the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Set in a remote Chinese town, the film centers on a family thrown into crisis after its patriarch suffers a stroke. According to the film’s description, care falls to his estranged wife, who has long wanted to leave an unhappy marriage, and to his second daughter, a single mother living with limited money.

Shi draws from his own family history for the project, using the story to look at ageing, domestic violence and obligation across generations in contemporary China. The film blends close observational nonfiction with a more formally adventurous style.

Inwave adds to its documentary slate

Inwave Films said it will present Time and Tide to buyers as part of its growing documentary lineup. The deal follows the company’s recent move onto Lust, a Berlinale title directed by Ralitza Petrova, as it expands a slate focused on internationally recognized auteur cinema.

The Inwave Films team described Time and Tide as “a raw and deeply intimate hybrid nonfiction film,” saying it turns one family’s emergency into a broader consideration of care, violence, responsibility and ageing in China today.

The company also called it “one of the most compelling Asian documentary features to emerge this year,” citing what it described as the film’s honesty, formal invention and emotional openness. Inwave said it believes the personal story can connect with audiences internationally.

Shi looks for a global route

Shi, who previously gained attention with award-winning shorts including Jia, said Time and Tide is grounded in a particular place and family story while speaking to wider experiences in contemporary China.

The filmmaker said the team wanted a sales agent that understood both the audience for the film and the international market, while also being open to collaborating on a release strategy. Shi said Inwave met those needs.

Time and Tide was written and directed by Shi. Nicholson Ren and Shi produced the film for Niu Studios, in association with Big and Little Films.

Michael McMahon is an executive producer alongside Ren and Shi. Ren also served as cinematographer. Shi edited the film, Luna Pan composed the original music, and Music and Effects handled sound post-production.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.