Inspired by a true incident, Shen Yu’s debut OLD TOWN GIRLS tells a tale about how an unsustained economic boom desolates working-class communities and familial relations. Tempted by living a new life as a professional dancer in big cities, Qu Ting bid farewell to her marriage in a decaying rust belt town, leaving behind her infant daughter Shui Qing, who’s been alienated by her dad’s new family since. Never felt equally loveable as her peers, Shui Qing instantly gets carried away by Qu Ting’s worldly charisma and maternal attention when the two meet seventeen years later. But the high schooler is soon forced to face the reality behind her mom’s sudden reappearance and years of unglamorous survival. As dangers loom, she decides to sacrifice everything for the slim chance of reunification.