Shenzhen-produced 'Dear You' to hit overseas cinemas

The Shenzhen-produced word-of-mouth hit “Dear You” will be screened in cinemas in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and China's Hong Kong and Macao on June 18, to be followed by releases in other countries across Asia, Europe, and North America soon, the film's production team announced on Sina Weibo on Friday.

"Dear You" is the second highest-grossing Chinese film this year so far. File photos

A low-budget film shot in the Chaoshan (Teochew) dialect, directed by Lan Hongchun and starring first-time actors, “Dear You” had grossed over 1.5 billion yuan (US$220 million) at the box office as of Thursday, making it the second highest-grossing Chinese film this year, only second to the Spring Festival hit “Pegasus 3.”

The film will also be shown in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., France, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. It had already debuted on May 15 at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Dear You" will soon start screening overseas.

The film will be screened overseas in the original Chaoshan dialect with both Chinese and English subtitles — or other language subtitles depending on the target market.

Released domestically on April 30, the film holds a rating of 9.2 out of 10 on the review platform Douban, making it one of the highest-rated Chinese films in recent years and one of the best-reviewed domestic releases of the past decade.

The film centers on Grandma Ye Shurou, a woman from the Chaoshan region whose quiet twilight years are upended when her debt-ridden grandson, Xiaowei, travels to Thailand to find his rumored billionaire grandfather, Zheng Musheng. The search uncovers a hidden story of friendship and commitment spanning half a century, revealing that the person Grandma had been exchanging letters with for decades was a complete stranger.

A poster for "Dear You."

The third installment of Lan's “Chaoshan Trilogy,” the film has plucked the heartstrings of millions of Chinese moviegoers.

Shenzhen's Publicity and Culture Development Fund has sponsored Lan's creations for nearly a decade. Behind his success lies an ecosystem for nurturing low-budget films and a mechanism for cultivating young creative talent.

Shenzhen has built a low-budget film support system that covers every stage of production, from scriptwriting and project pitching to shooting, post-production, and submission to authorities for review.

Lan said the success of “Dear You” is largely attributed to his team's devotion to presenting an authentic story. "The stories we tell are not fiction, but are based on real events and inspired by the lives of common folk. The true emotions the characters cherished and the heartwarming stories that happened on this land have given us the secret key to touch people."

In recent years, Shenzhen has fostered a "tropical rainforest"-style cultural ecosystem. The city has produced 86 national and international award-winning works in film, TV, music, and dance.