Mistress Dispeller


Desperate to save her marriage, a woman in China hires a professional to go undercover and break up her husband’s affair. MISTRESS DISPELLER follows this process from all corners of a love triangle in an intimate meditation on love and family.

Director:
Elizabeth Lo
Producers:
Emma D. Miller, Elizabeth Lo, Maggie Li
Year:
2024
Format:
Documentary Feature
Toronto International Film Festival 2024 laurels
Chicago Film Festival Gold Huge for Best Documentary awards laurels
New Orleans Film Festival Best Documentary Feature laurels
Camerimage Film Festival Golden Frog for Best Documentary awards laurel
81 Biennale di Venezia 2024 laurels
Mistress Dispeller poster
WEBSITE
Facebook Instagram
Select Awards & Festivals
  • 3 Cinema Eye Honors Nominations – Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Production, and Cinematography
  • Venice Film Festival – Author Under 40 Award, NETPAC Award
  • Toronto International Film Festival
  • Zurich Film Festival
  • SFFILM Doc Stories
  • Camden International Film Festival – Harrell Award Special Mention
  • Chicago International Film Festival – Gold Hugo Award for Best Documentary
  • New Orleans Film Festival – Documentary Feature Award
  • New Hampshire Film Festival – Documentary Grand Jury Award
  • Denver Film Festival – Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary
  • Camerimage International Film Festival – Golden Frog Grand Prix for Documentary Feature
  • DOC NYC
  • Palm Springs International Film Festival
  • Santa Barbara International Film Festival
  • Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
PRESS
Elizabeth Lo Observantly Follows a Chinese Marriage in a Fidelity Crisis

“Elegantly haunting and strangely romantic… 'Mistress Dispeller' culminates in a beautiful final act, as everyone — the audience included — walks away with something rewarding and reflective from the time they’ve spent with Teacher Wang."

A Documentary About a Love Triangle in China, and the Woman Hired to Break It Up

“Gripping and fascinatingly conceived… This level of intimacy and access is rare in any nonfiction film, guiding ‘Mistress Dispeller’ toward a profound and searching panorama of loneliness and partnership, where everyone gets a chance to be heard.”

DOC NYC Heats Up with Oscar Contenders and World Premieres

"A stunner of an observational documentary that invites audiences to be a complicit conspirator in a high stakes study of a love triangle....It’s a jaw-on-the-floor observation of unbearable intimacy, openness, and hunger in our shared desire for connection.”

CREDITS

Directed and Produced by: Elizabeth Lo 

Produced by: Emma D. Miller 

Producer: Maggie Li

Director of Photography: Elizabeth Lo

Editor: Charlotte Munch Bengtsen

Co-Editor: Elizabeth Lo

Writers: Elizabeth Lo, Charlotte Munch Bengtsen

Original Music: Brian McOmber

Executive Producers: Jenny Raskin, Kelsey Koenig, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Nick Shumaker, Jessica Grimshaw, David Levine, Dawn Olmstead, Rahdi Taylor, Davis Guggenheim, Steve Cohen, Paula Froehle

Co-Executive Producers: Lauren Haber, Marni E. J. Grossman