Upcoming film tells of ordinary people's fight against epidemic

Amid the current lockdown of Xi'an in Shaanxi province, an upcoming film recounting China's early battle against COVID-19 is expected to bring audiences the strength and courage to face off the crisis in this chilly winter, according to some industry observers.

Embrace Again, set to open on Dec 31, gathered its producers and some experts to attend a seminar in Beijing on Tuesday.

Fu Ruoqing, general manager of China Film Co. Ltd and the movie's chief producer, said his company started to collect firsthand information as preparation for the movie when the epidemic broke out in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, in February last year.

The film originally sought inspiration from the true story of Wang Yong, a delivery man who organized a volunteer team to provide commuting rides for many medical workers during Wuhan's lockdown. With female director Xue Xiaolu, the original script was expanded to portray more ordinary people-turned-heroes, forming a group picture reflecting the Wuhan people's optimistic and positive spirit to fight the pandemic, according to Fu.

Zhang Wei, secretary general of the China Film Critics Association, said the film has also carefully examined human relations during the pandemic, and expressed hope it will resonate with many viewers who will see their own confusion and struggles.

Aside from Embrace Again, Fu also announced several of the company's new movies, including the sequel to The Wandering Earth, China's all-time highest-grossing sci-fi epic, and an epic project about the Chinese People's Volunteers forces entering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to fight in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), which might be a trilogy.

The Wandering Earth sequel, still directed by Guo Fan, is currently being shot in Qingdao, Shandong province, with all scenes shot in 26 soundstages - one of the biggest covering an area of 3,000 square meters, Fu Said.

China Film Co. Ltd, the country's largest State-owned studio, expects to start shooting at least seven new movies after the approaching Spring Festival, which will fall on Feb 1, and estimates it will finance more than 30 films next year, Fu revealed.