From the filmmaker behind “Stray,” director Elizabeth Lo returns with her latest documentary, “Mistress Dispeller,” a gripping exploration of intimacy, deception, and social expectation within contemporary China. The film is set to open on October 22 via Oscilloscope Laboratories.
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Executive produced by Constance Wu, the film follows Wang Zhenxi, a professional “mistress dispeller” — part of a growing industry in China dedicated to saving marriages through unconventional means. Hired to go undercover and sabotage extramarital affairs, Wang’s job is to expose, manipulate, and ultimately dismantle relationships in order to restore the marital bond. What begins as a professional assignment transforms into a complex human drama as she becomes entangled in an evolving love triangle where compassion and strategy collide.
Lo and co-writer Charlotte Munch Bengtsen document the real-life story with astonishing access, capturing emotional confrontations and quiet revelations that unfold in real time. Through Wang’s eyes, “Mistress Dispeller” reveals a society wrestling with shifting values — where traditional loyalty, modern independence, and economic pressures intertwine in ways both personal and political.
The film is produced by Emma D. Miller, Elizabeth Lo, and Maggie Li, with 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, and Justine Suzanne Jones, and co-executive producers Lauren Haber and Marni E. J. Grossman.
Running 94 minutes, “Mistress Dispeller” continues Lo’s fascination with the moral gray zones of human behavior — offering both a voyeuristic thrill and a compassionate, clear-eyed study of love and loyalty under pressure.
“Mistress Dispeller” is set to open in theaters on October 22, 2025. Watch a new clip below and the trailer in case you missed it.
