As a more pragmatic person, Yinxin leaves the troupe to go abroad to lead a better life.

"With many people facing uncertainty in the then changing era, their humanity was complex and under test from various aspects like love and friendship. But if you have been part of the era, you would understand the film," explains Dai.

The veteran director, with more than 40 galas under her belt at China Central Television, shifted her interest to the silver screen with the 2008 musical film Ganglamedo, named after a popular Tibetan folk song Snow Lotus.

With other directorial efforts, including Once Upon a Time in Tibet (2011) and Once Again (2017), Dai has demonstrated her talent in the examination of women's status quo and psyche.

But her connection with The Chanting Willows started much earlier.

"When I was studying in college, I was impressed by novelist Wang while reading her award-winning series Charen Sanbuqu (Tea Men Trilogy). Her language has a particular magic to make you feel that you could step into the fictional world and closely follow the characters," recalls Dai.

When her executive producer recommended Dai to read Wang's Liu Lang Wen Ying, one of 10 novellas in the anthology Aiqing Xihu (Love Stories in West Lake), Dai was quickly hooked.

After getting financed and then interviewing more than 100 actors to select the cast, the movie started shooting－with its major scenarios filmed in West Lake－in summer last year.

The two lead actresses－both music majors－were trained with professionals of a local Yueju Opera troupe in Shengzhou for around two months, with some cameo appearances by the troupe's performers in the film.

The performances of several Yueju Opera classics, including Butterfly Lovers, account for 20 minutes, or nearly 20 percent of the 106-minute film, making it a distinctive draw to create a "play-within-a-play" effect, says Dai.

Teng Jingshu, the producer, says: "Blending Yueju Opera elements with Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) flavor, the movie has a romantic, gentle and sensitive personality."

Contact the writer at [email protected]