Waiting Alone

Waiting Alone (Chinese: 独自等待; pinyin: Dúzì Děngdài) is a 2004 Chinese romantic comedy film written and directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng (Chinese: 伍仕贤; pinyin: Wǔ Shìxían), depicting the lives of a group of hip twenty-something Beijing residents. The film features Chinese movie stars Xia Yu, Gong Beibi, Li Bingbing, and Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat in his first mainland Chinese film appearance. Waiting Alone was nominated for three Chinese academy awards (Golden Rooster Awards) including Best Picture - the first time a nomination was awarded to a foreign director in this category.

Waiting Alone
Directed by	Dayyan Eng
Written by	Dayyan Eng
Produced by	Dayyan Eng
Starring	Xia Yu Li Bingbing Gong Beibi
Cinematography	Toby Oliver
Edited by	Dayyan Eng
Release date	26 October 2004 (2004-10-26) (Tokyo International Film Festival)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin

Plot

Waiting Alone is a coming-of-age romantic comedy that follows Chen Wen, a young co-owner of a Beijing antique shop and an aspiring novelist. Told from his point of view, the story centers on his infatuation with Liu Rong, an up-and-coming actress whom he believes might be the perfect girl. Despite their growing closeness, Wen struggles to understand why she won’t return his affections. With the help of his eccentric group of friends and his trusted confidante Li Jing, Wen navigates the challenges of modern relationships, romantic missteps, and self-discovery in a witty, grounded portrait of urban life and young adulthood in fast-changing China.

Cast

• Xia Yu
• Li Bingbing
• Gong Beibi
• Gao Qi
• Wu Chao
• Gao Yalin
• Tu Songyan
• Dayyan Eng
• Li Lihong
• Yuan Quan (cameo)
• Chen Yufan (cameo)
• Ying Da (cameo)
• David Wu (cameo)
• Chow Yun-fat (cameo)

Production

With this film, Eng made history as the first American to direct a Chinese feature film, and the first and only foreign director to date (as of 2024) to have a film nominated for Best Picture at the Chinese academy awards.^[1]

Release

The film debuted at the 2004 Tokyo International Film Festival and was released in theaters in China in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Waiting Alone was acquired for international distribution in 2006 by Arclight Films, and subsequently became available on streamer platforms worldwide,^{[citation needed]} including Amazon Prime.^[2]

Reception

Excellent reviews and strong word-of-mouth made this independent film a cult hit in China, where it was embraced by millennial audiences.^{[citation needed]} The film also remains the highest-rated romantic comedy from China on Douban and other review sites (as of 2025), resonating deeply with an entire generation of Chinese audiences.^[3]

New Cinema Magazine called it "The funniest Chinese-language film of 2005!"^[4] Variety wrote: "Waiting Alone provides honest laughter and touching moments as it invades the modern romantic comedy turf of Woody Allen and Nora Ephron. … All thesps show good comic timing, and Xia [Yu] is especially good as the lovelorn Chen and Gong Beibi also impresses as [Jing]. ...Will leave the cinema with a joyous bang."^[5]

Awards

• Best Picture Nomination (Dayyan Eng) - 2005 Golden Rooster Awards
• Best Actress Nomination (Li Bingbing) - 2005 Golden Rooster Awards
• Best Art Direction Nomination (Thomas Chong) - 2005 Golden Rooster Awards
• Best First Feature Award (Dayyan Eng) - 2005 Beijing College Students Film Festival
• Best Actor Award (Xia Yu) - 2005 Beijing College Students Film Festival
• Favorite Actress Nomination (Gong Beibi) - 2005 Beijing College Students Film Festival
• Favorite Actress (Li Bingbing) - 2005 Beijing College Students Film Festival
• Best New Director Nomination (Dayyan Eng) - 6th Chinese Film Media Awards
• Official Selection - 17th Tokyo International Film Festival
• Official Selection - 2006 Thessaloniki International Film Festival
• Official Selection - 2006 Hawaii International Film Festival