WEDNESDAY 12 August
MISTRESS DISPELLER
Directed by: Elizabeth Lo
2024| M | 1 hour 34 mins | China, USA | Mandarin, English
Doors open at 6:30pm.
Screening starts at 7pm sharp.
What if saving a marriage meant hiring someone else to break it apart? Mistress Dispeller is a fascinating and intimate documentary that explores love, loyalty, betrayal and the complicated realities of relationships in contemporary China.
Directed by Elizabeth Lo, the film follows Wang Zhenxi, a professional “mistress dispeller” — a specialist hired by people desperate to save their marriages by ending their partner’s affair. Working somewhere between relationship counsellor, investigator and strategist, Teacher Wang goes undercover to help couples rebuild their relationships and remove the third person from the equation.
The documentary centres on one real-life case, following a woman who hires Wang after discovering her husband’s affair. As Teacher Wang becomes involved, the story unfolds from all sides of the love triangle — the wife, the husband and the mistress — revealing the complicated emotions, hopes and vulnerabilities behind each person’s choices.
Rather than simply presenting a story of right and wrong, Mistress Dispeller takes a more thoughtful approach, asking deeper questions about marriage, commitment, social expectations and the pressures that shape romantic relationships. Through this unusual profession, the film examines how class, culture and changing ideas about love collide in modern China.
With remarkable access to private moments usually hidden from view, director Elizabeth Lo creates a documentary that is both quietly compelling and surprisingly emotional. The film invites audiences to consider each person’s perspective, challenging us to rethink our assumptions about infidelity, forgiveness and what people are willing to do to hold onto the relationships that matter to them.
A China–USA co-production, Mistress Dispeller premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, where it received the NETPAC Award and recognition for Elizabeth Lo’s direction. The film has since gained attention for its uniquely intimate look at love and marriage in the modern world.
Part relationship drama, part social study, Mistress Dispeller is a fascinating portrait of human connection — reminding us that behind every relationship crisis are real people searching for love, security and understanding.
Producer: Elizabeth Lo
Music: Brian McOmber
Cinematography: Elizabeth Lo