About

A moving exploration of inner hutong lives in the heart of Beijing, complete with their rich flavours, urban noise and social networks, Girls Always Happy is like no other contemporary Chinese film you have seen.

In China, it is not uncommon for parents and their grown-up children to live under the same roof. Girls Always Happy takes an authentic, layered look at a mother–daughter relationship so intimate and entangled that it is hard to summarise in a few words. Written, directed, acted and edited by talented first-time director Yang Mingming, this film defies stereotypes of urban China and independent Chinese cinema, engagingly portraying a woman’s personal and professional struggle in its loose, free-flow structure.