Replica

Directed by Chouwa Liang

Australia

2026

90 mins

Unclassified 15+

Three women, disillusioned by the realities of life and relationships in modern China, turn to AI for love and connection in this insightful, award-winning documentary.

Qin, Sonya and Muna are bright and capable but they struggle with loneliness, disconnection and gender discrimination – underscored by China’s former one child policy. Factory worker Qin creates Mr. Lu on the app Glow; he’s witty, dependable and devoted. Independent Sonya suspects Replika-created Stephen is cheating on her. Muna, married but feeling unloved at home, finds comfort in Orion, produced through ChatGPT. These virtual partners provide all three women with emotional support and comfort, but how long can the fantasy last? Is artificial intimacy a refuge or a trap? Director Chouwa Liang, inspired by her personal experience, delivers a fascinating exploration of love, intimacy and gender in modern China.

“Although it focuses on the circumstances surrounding human-AI relationships, Replica is also very much a sharp insight into the ‘affection-gap’ generation, young women born during China’s one-child policy and often shunned by families who wished for a boy instead.”

Rafa Sales Ross, Variety

“In Replica, women turn to AI partners for comfort, affirmation, and emotional refuge, exposing the social and psychological conditions that make such attachments possible.”

Dieter Wieczorek, Modern Times

Rafa Sales Ross, Variety

Special Guests

Andy Huang

Producer

Andy Huang is an award-winning screen producer with a Master of Screen Producing from the University of Melbourne. His recent producing credits include MORE THAN A FATHER (in production), REPLICA (2026), and MY AI LOVER (2022), among others. Andy’s work has received numerous accolades, including the Silver Alexander Award at the 2026 Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. His films have been showcased at major international festivals, including Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and ZINEBI. Andy is the founder and Creative Producer at Axel Rise Films and previously served as Artistic Manager at Grandshow Productions.

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Chouwa Liang

Director

Chouwa Liang is an award-winning documentary filmmaker from Beijing, China. Her work explores intimacy, gender, and emotional experience in contemporary Chinese society from a female perspective. Her short film MY A.I. LOVER was featured by The New York Times Op-Docs. Her debut feature REPLICA premiered in 2026, where it won the Silver Alexander Award at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, and was selected for Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, and Doc Edge.

Tickets

Fri 12 June 2026, 6pm

Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 3

Event George St - Cinema 3

2 Guests

Sun 14 June 2026, 2:15pm

Dendy Newtown - Cinema 2

2 Guests

See more, save more with a Flexipass or Youth Pass

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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