00:00Well, Zhang is founder of Blade Vista Public Relations and an Asian and international cinema expert.
00:06Joining us now, hello, thanks so much for your time.
00:08Why has this particular story captured the hearts of so many in China?
00:15Yes, Ali, you know, actually just the story suggests that it creates a strong word-on-mouth thing.
00:20And it's phenomenal. Almost everyone in China is talking about this film now.
00:24And what I see is the story actually feels emotionally true to many Chinese audiences.
00:30You know, actually this film is very specific. It's about a local dialect, about local culture.
00:35But, you know, the emotional core actually is pretty universal there.
00:40The story is about grandparents, about memory, about that kind of love that many Chinese families feel deeply, but barely
00:47speak it directly.
00:49So even many people not from that region, they will still recognize their own family experiencing it.
00:55So that is why it connects to people so strongly across the country and creates a strong word-on-mouth.
01:01And it's remarkable that it's such a low-budget film and its popularity has spread largely through word-of-mouth.
01:09What does that tell us in this era of big-budget promotional tours?
01:15Yeah, you know, I wouldn't say word-on-mouth is something quite new, but it's sort of phenomenal for this
01:20small film to go this far.
01:22And I do see, do notice the mechanism of sword-on-mouth is changing right now.
01:27It looks different.
01:28Because in the past, generally, a traditional advertising and marketing plan had created sort of awareness and buzz around the
01:37film before the film's release.
01:39But now, especially in China, I think the audience has that kind of power to change film's destiny after its
01:44release.
01:44And what's so interesting about this film is that it actually inspired many people to post their own family stories
01:50on social media.
01:51And this conversation is not just simply about whether these films are good or not.
01:55It's more about why the story matters to them.
01:58So that makes the trust faster than traditional advertising.
02:02And it's interesting that, you know, it's a local story, but it taps into a very deep, universal, emotional experience.
02:11And I'm wondering if it taps into something for Chinese audiences at this particular time.
02:17Are you seeing certain trends in what they like to see?
02:20Or does this completely buck the trend?
02:24Well, you know, that's a very interesting question.
02:27You know, I feel the film is about, you know, immigration, about immigrants to their emotional connection to their family.
02:34And I think for many Chinese families, they have their family members to go abroad or either go to another
02:40city for seeking for new life and for making money or for making a living.
02:45But also, still the emotional connection to their own family is always there.
02:50So that's why it resonates with so many people, especially during the holiday season.
02:55Do you think this is something that would appeal to international audiences as well?
03:01Well, you know, actually, the reality is what we know is in drama film is sometimes becoming challenging to go
03:07across the border.
03:08But I do think this film can go further because I do have a confidence to see that the story
03:14itself could resonate with many people internationally.
03:17Because as I said, just a comment about the film is about immigration, about their emotional connection to their cultural
03:25roots and to their family.
03:27And there are many immigrants, family and immigrant communities all across the world.
03:31So I believe this film can go further.
03:34I expect to see it.
03:36Talk to us a little bit more about the power of storytelling, the heart of a really good story,
03:42even in this era of special effects and all sorts of clever gimmicks.
03:49You know, that's a very interesting question.
03:51I feel like the emotion, of course, is true and is universal.
03:57It will come next to people very quickly.
04:00And I feel like right now, especially for Chinese audiences, they are becoming more selective.
04:05They expect to see the story actually as close to their real life.
04:09They want to see the story, understand their life.
04:12Their memory and their relationships.
04:14So that's why, you know, kind of like, for a story like this, the emotional story is universal.
04:19And even the local details actually can make the film, the story feel even stronger.
04:24Absolutely.
04:25Thank you so much, Will Zhang, founder of Blade Vista Public Relations, also an Asian and international cinema expert.
04:31Thank you so much.
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