Wong Kar Wai Sets ‘Blossoms Shanghai’ As Debut Drama Series

Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai has set an adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s novel Blossoms as his first series project.

Created and produced by Wong, Blossoms Shanghai will be an homage to his birthplace, Shanghai, by exploring its massive economic growth in the 1990s. It follows a self-made millionaire, Mr Bao, and his journey of reinvention from a young opportunist with a troubled past to the heights of the gilded city.

The Wild Goose Lake actor Hu Ge will star in the series, which is written by Qin Wen. Wong will also direct the pilot episode. The project will shoot in Shanghai. Producers are Wong’s Jet Tone. Tencent Penguin Pictures has acquired the rights for China. Block 2 Distribution is handling international sales.

“Jin Yucheng’s landmark novel Blossoms has been the perfect backdrop to visualize and share my love for my birth city,” said Wong Kar Wai. “With the series, I would like to invite the audience to immerse in the intrigues of Shanghai and its inhabitants in the early 1990s, an exciting time that paved the way for the prosperity of modern Shanghai.”