Ayka's director, Sergey Dvortsevoy, actress Samal Yeslyamova (second right) and the film's Chinese distributers, Wang Luna (left) and Zhu Li (right), present at the recent Pingyao film festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I made changes to the script during (the) shooting," he says.

Dvortsevoy praises Yeslyamova's acting. She had worked on his previous film, Tulpan, the winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard section at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

"Thanks to her, I was able to adopt these changes, because I understand that she can perform difficult scenes," Dvortsevoy says.

"She can act metaphysically and realistically. You can sometimes feel that she is the real character, because she believes in herself. That's why she's a good actress－she knows all the acting techniques, but she doesn't show them."

Yeslyamova faced up to the challenges of having no experience of working in factories or childbirth with her passion for acting.

"We spent two weeks training in a factory, with two real workers who were also on screen," Yeslyamova says of a scene in Ayka that involves plucking a chicken.

"This is a very hard role to play, requiring a lot of time and effort. But if you love acting, if you love films, then it's not so complicated."

This film features cooperation between Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Germany and Poland.

Wang Luna and Zhu Li from its Chinese distributers, Juben Pictures, decided to invest in Ayka after watching only the first 15 minutes of the film.

"At first, we were simply overwhelmed by the talent of the director. The story itself also has realistic implications, for the dilemma of Ayka may resonate with young people struggling in first-tier cities (in China)," Wang says.

"Then, we went a bit further than others, with not only investment but also cooperation in its production."

Dvortsevoy says Chinese producers made the film possible.

"I'm open for this collaboration mode and even thinking about making films here in China."