This film is part of Rentals

Almost Heaven
Carol Salter's award-winning portrait of a young Chinese woman training to become a mortician is a tender and reflective elegy on death and the fragility of life.
Documentary 2017 72 mins
Director: Carol Salter
Overview
Carol Salter's tender and reflective portrait of Ying Ling, a young woman training to become a mortician at one of China’s largest funeral homes, was awarded Best Documentary at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards. Despite being away from home for the first time, and her fear of ghosts and dead bodies, Ying Ling learns the spa rituals; cleaning and massaging corpses while grieving families look on. She finds solace in her macabre role through playful banter with another of young mortician, and together, they spend their time off talking about their hopes, fears and plans for the future. As one of many rural-to-urban teenagers working to support her family, Ying Ling must immerse herself in the surreal and grinding world of China’s industrialisation of mortality.
With intimate access and moments of black humour, Almost Heaven follows Ying Ling as she learns about life while surrounded by death.

Related
Documentary

IWOW: I Walk on Water IWOW: I Walk on Water
Documentary 2020 199 mins Director: Khalik Allah
The monumental new diary film from New York-based director and photographer Khalik Allah.

Pride & Protest Pride & Protest
Documentary 2020 90 mins Director: Blaise Singh
The modern face of protest is the focus of this timely and necessary documentary.

A Glitch in the Matrix A Glitch in the Matrix
Documentary 2020 109 mins Director: Rodney Ascher
What if we are living in a simulation, and the world as we know it is not real? Acclaimed documentarian Rodney Ascher (Room 237) dives down the rabbit hole of science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory.

The Capote Tapes The Capote Tapes
Documentary 2019 95 mins Director: Ebs Burnough
This intimate documentary reveals the rise and fall of Truman Capote, one of America’s most iconic writers.

Assassins Assassins
Documentary 2020 104 mins Director: Ryan White
Extraordinary documentary of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korea’s Leader Kim Jon Un, that sparked a worldwide media frenzy.

76 Days 76 Days
Documentary 2020 93 mins Director: Weixi Chen
A raw and intimate documentary that captures the struggles and human resilience in the battle to survive the pandemic in Wuhan, China.
Kermode introduces

Fanny and Alexander Fanny and Alexander
Drama 1982 181 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Bergman’s magisterial and sumptuous portrait of a 20th-century Swedish family.

Love Exposure Love Exposure
Comedy 2008 237 mins Director: Sion Sono
Japanese cinema's enfant terrible, Sion Sono, unleashes this demented, whirlwind tale of cults, love, violence and perversion.

The Kreutzer Sonata The Kreutzer Sonata
Drama 2008 96 mins Director: Bernard Rose
Bernard Rose updates Tolstoy's tale about the corrupting power of sex and jealousy, with Danny Huston as the wealthy husband of a beautiful, famous pianist (Elisabeth Röhm).

A Northern Soul A Northern Soul
Documentary 2018 73 mins Director: Sean McAllister
Acclaimed filmmaker Sean McAllister (A Syrian Love Story) returns to his hometown of Hull to profile local resident Steve Arnott, a struggling warehouse worker who harbours his own creative dream of breaking into hip-hop.

La Notte La Notte
Drama 1961 122 mins Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni's masterpiece stars Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau as a couple re-examining their emotional bonds.

The Old Dark House The Old Dark House
Comedy 1932 72 mins Director: James Whale
A group of weary travellers arrive at a spooky mansion with a madman on the loose, in this classic horror-comedy from James Whale (Bride of Frankenstein)
New

White Colour Black White Colour Black
Drama 2016 83 mins Director: Joseph A. Adesunloye
A young mixed heritage man confronts the psychological complexities of his identity in this essential, truly cinematic discovery for anyone interested in Black British cinema.

IWOW: I Walk on Water IWOW: I Walk on Water
Documentary 2020 199 mins Director: Khalik Allah
The monumental new diary film from New York-based director and photographer Khalik Allah.

Synchronic Synchronic
Science Fiction 2019 102 mins Director: Justin Benson
Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan star as a pair of New Orleans paramedics who encounter a series of bizarre deaths linked to a new designer drug with otherworldly effects.

Pride & Protest Pride & Protest
Documentary 2020 90 mins Director: Blaise Singh
The modern face of protest is the focus of this timely and necessary documentary.

In the Mood for Love In the Mood for Love
Drama 2000 100 mins Director: Wong Kar Wai
Wong’s masterpiece is a heartbreaking story of illicit love that pulses with the ache and agony of repressed desire.

Happy Together Happy Together
Drama 1997 98 mins Director: Wong Kar Wai
A trip to Buenos Aires reveals the dark side of love as a gay couple (Leung and Cheung) struggle with jealousy, co-dependency and possessiveness as their turbulent relationship falls apart.