Liu Yulin (left) directs the upcoming film, Someone to Talk To, adapted from her father Liu Zhenyun's (right) novel, A Word is Worth Ten Thousand Words. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Liu Yulin's statement about "not letting the audience see the director in the movie" sealed the deal.
And though the director is the author's daughter, her credentials as a filmmaker are impressive.
The 29-year-old first garnered Western attention for her directorial debut, Door God.
The short film－depicting a 6-year-old girl's yearning for maternal love－won her, then still a student in the United States, a silver medal in the Narrative Category at the 41st Student Academy Awards in 2014.
The movie is set in Liu's hometown, Yanjin county in Henan province, and it centers on a pair of siblings. The brother is upset about being betrayed by his wife, and his sister is eager to get married.
The director, in keeping with her plan to make a film that feels real, demanded cast members experience life in Central China's villages for two months.
And, unlike most domestic films, which rely heavily on stars, the film features lesser-known actors and actresses, including Mao Hai, Li Qian and Liu Bei.
