“Outside the Room of My Own,” a debut feature from Chinese filmmaker Yan Siyu, is screening at SIFF Project during the Shanghai International Film Festival, with Lucie Zhang portraying a writer navigating intergenerational tensions in urban China. The film, inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own,” explores themes of identity and class through three generations of women in contrasting Chinese cities. https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/virginia-woolf-shanghai-project-outside-the-room-of-my-own-1236780812/ https://3minuteread.com/news/e92271b2-fb35-4892-9473-3569b6a1a98c https://www.ivoox.com/en/news-update-woolf-s-ghost-haunts-shanghai-lucie-zhang-s-audios-mp3_rf_175517267_1.html https://tdnews.com.ar/espectaculos/virginia-woolf-inspira-el-proyecto-de-shanghai-fuera-de-mi-propia-habitacion/53113/ https://www.headliner.nl/artikelen/yan-siyu-debuteert-persoonlijke-dramafilm-outside-the-room-my-own-shanghai-festival-43326
### A Multigenerational Journey Through Urban Landscapes
Yan Siyu’s film follows Yuan Chengge, a writer burned out by Beijing’s urban pressures, as she travels to Chengdu and the village of Luding with her mother and grandmother. The journey juxtaposes Beijing’s megacity chaos, Chengdu’s urban vibrancy, and Luding’s rural simplicity, framing the women’s lives within shifting social and economic contexts. “The central question of this film is not how a woman can become ‘independent,’ but how I can reshape my subjectivity through my relationships with others,” Yan said, emphasizing a non-binary approach to gender and generational dynamics. https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/virginia-woolf-shanghai-project-outside-the-room-of-my-own-1236780812/ https://tdnews.com.ar/espectaculos/virginia-woolf-inspira-el-proyecto-de-shanghai-fuera-de-mi-propia-habitacion/53113/ https://www.headliner.nl/artikelen/yan-siyu-debuteert-persoonlijke-dramafilm-outside-the-room-my-own-shanghai-festival-43326
### Lucie Zhang’s Role and the Film’s Unique Perspective
French actress Lucie Zhang, known for her César nomination in 2022, stars as Yuan Chengge. Yan Siyu discovered Zhang’s work in the Cannes-selected short “Nervous Energy,” praising her “sharp, combative” presence as essential for the role. Zhang’s performance, described as “raw and introspective,” marks a departure from her previous roles, with the film’s director calling it a “bold new direction.” https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/virginia-woolf-shanghai-project-outside-the-room-of-my-own-1236780812/ https://www.ivoox.com/en/news-update-woolf-s-ghost-haunts-shanghai-lucie-zhang-s-audios-mp3_rf_175517267_1.html https://www.headliner.nl/artikelen/yan-siyu-debuteert-persoonlijke-dramafilm-outside-the-room-my-own-shanghai-festival-43326
### Production Details and International Distribution Plans
The film, currently in a work-in-progress cut, seeks international distribution partners. Producers Peng Jin and Li Yifan highlighted its “self-assured perspective on fragmented identity,” noting the need for sound design, original score, and color correction. A summer outdoor shoot is planned, with the team aiming to refine the film’s aesthetic system. “It is also the first step I have taken as a filmmaker in trying to build an aesthetic system of my own,” Yan said, framing the project as a personal and artistic milestone. https://www.headliner.nl/artikelen/yan-siyu-debuteert-persoonlijke-dramafilm-outside-the-room-my-own-shanghai-festival-43326 https://variety.com/2026/film/markets-festivals/virginia-woolf-shanghai-project-outside-the-room-of-my-own-1236780812/
### Themes of Identity and Class in Contemporary China
Yan’s script draws from her years in Beijing, embedding “everyday concrete elements” like rent disputes and neighborhood dynamics.
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