MISTRESS DISPELLER

What happens when there’s a crowd in a marriage? As sophomore filmmaker Elizabeth Lo finds, one possible answer is to sneak in a special fourth person. In China, a new industry has emerged devoted to helping couples stay married in the face of infidelity. Wang Zhenxi is part of this growing profession, a “mistress dispeller” who is hired to maintain the bonds of marriage — and break up affairs — by any means necessary. Offering strikingly intimate access to private dramas usually hidden behind closed doors, Mistress Dispeller follows a real, unfolding case of infidelity as Teacher Wang attempts to bring a couple back from the edge of crisis. Their story shifts our sympathies between husband, wife, and mistress to explore how emotion, pragmatism, and cultural norms collide to shape romantic relationships in contemporary China.