The Sun Rises on Us All (2025)

[Cremildo]

A welcome return to the [Toronto International Film] Festival for acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Cai Shangjun (The Conformist, TIFF ’17), The Sun Rises On Us All marks a striking continuation of his singular, intellectually, and emotionally resonant body of work. A leading voice in Chinese neo-noir, Cai has long surprised and engaged audiences with morally complex stories that explore the human condition with subtlety and gravitas. His latest film is no exception.

Anchored by mesmerizing performances from award-winning actor Xin Zhilei (Wong Kar-wai’s Blossoms Shanghai), and from renowned actor Zhang Songwen (Saturday Fiction, TIFF ’19), the film follows two former lovers whose lives remain painfully entangled by a shared secret: years ago, he took the fall for a crime she committed. After serving time, he re-emerges into a world where forgiveness remains elusive, and love has curdled into resentment. As they navigate their daily routines in the same city — estranged yet never far apart — their past resurfaces in a final, heart-wrenching reckoning. [source]