The Dating Game: Documentary Explores China’s Gender Imbalance and the Struggles of Rural Men Finding Love

The new documentary The Dating Game, directed by Violet Du Feng, offers a humorous yet poignant look at the love struggles of men in modern China. Faced with a gender imbalance of roughly 30 million more men than women, according to the Pew Research Center, men like Zhou, Li, and Wu confront fierce competition in the search for a wife.

Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and opening in UK theaters on September 19 and in the U.S. on October 10, the film follows these men as they join a weeklong dating camp led by coach Hao. His mission: teach them conversation skills, improve their self-presentation, and boost their confidence in approaching women.

Hao’s strategies include crafting effective opening lines, arranging photo shoots with dogs to post on social media (“women like men who like dogs”), and refining both online and offline images. While some participants embrace the coaching, others remain skeptical, one saying in the trailer, “I don’t like to pretend. I am who I am.”

The documentary captures poignant, humorous, and often awkward moments, as the men struggle through their lessons and face the realities of China’s dating scene. Feng notes that the most at-risk bachelors are working-class men from rural towns, and while she questions some of Hao’s methods, she sees his genuine motivation to help.

The Dating Game has been warmly received at international festivals including Sundance, Hot Docs (Toronto), CPH:DOX (Copenhagen), San Francisco International Film Festival, Sheffield DocFest (UK), and True/False (Columbia, MO). Feng recalls audience members saying their “jaw hurts from laughing too hard,” and sharing praise with her in person after screenings.

The film earned Best International Director at Doc Edge (New Zealand) and a Special Mention for Best International Feature, along with nominations at Sundance, Miami Film Festival, and others.

Produced by Oscar winner Joanna Natasegara (The White Helmets, The Edge of Democracy) and James Costa (Hidden Letters, Welcome to Chechnya), The Dating Game is a collaboration between Fish+Bear Pictures, Violet Films, Bird Street Productions, Ten Thousand Images, and Chicken & Egg Pictures.