High Wire

When a small circus arrives in a rural part of England, a young woman’s world is opened to the boundless possibilities of life, in this rollicking directorial debut.

Screening dates and booking

Check which tickets are still available across the festival – and find out about extra ticket releases and standby queues.

Credits

  • Director

    Calif Chong

  • Screenwriters

    Calif Chong, Jackie Lam

  • With

    Isabella Wei, Dominic Lam Kar Wah, Jose Palma

  • UK 2025. 105min

  • Courtesy of

    Silent D Pictures

  • Languages

    English, Cantonese

    With English subtitles

Introduction

Go-Wing’s future feels predetermined. Days are filled working at her father’s Chinese takeaway and studying. Beneath her sense of duty is a crushing loneliness and the prospect of a life unfulfilled. So, when an acrobatic circus comes to town, with a little accidental blackmail Go-Wing is able to join them and finds the promise of community, artistic release and a fulfilling future lived on her own terms.

Lynn Nwokorie

Content warning

Contains racist attitudes and language.

Contains flashing images.

How to book

Tickets start from £10 for all screenings and events in London, with concessions available for many screenings. Booking information and ticket prices.

If you’re aged 16 to 25, sign up for free to BFI 25 and Under for a chance to get £6 tickets to all screenings and events (subject to availability).

Missed out?

More tickets may become available for these screenings before and during the festival. Find out about extra ticket releases and standby queues.

Our programmers recommend...

Lucky Lu

Inspired by personal memory, Lloyd Lee Choi’s compassionate debut charts a migrant father’s enduring devotion as he drifts through the rhythms of life in New York’s Chinatown.

Read more about Lucky Lu

Weightless

Forbidden fruits of all flavours tempt teenage Lea as she negotiates space for herself and her desires at a Danish summer ‘wellness’ camp.

Read more about Weightless

Têtes Brûlées

A young girl’s experience of grief, within a close-knit Tunisian community in Belgium, is tenderly captured in Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama’s affecting feature debut.

Read more about Têtes Brûlées