The jury of the 39th China Film Golden Rooster Awards announced its nominations on October 19 at a press conference in Beijing for the 2026 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.
The Guangdong-produced film "Dear You" received six nominations: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Art Direction and Best Music. The nominations span the film's core creative work, from directing and screenwriting to performance and production, making it the most-nominated Guangdong film this year.
As the music director of "Dear You," IP GUANGDONG creator Li Yihan also received a nomination for Best Music.
Li and his team produced 27 pieces of original music and four theme songs for the film. The creative process involved repeated refinement and multiple restarts from scratch, ultimately achieving a seamless fusion of sound and image.
As a theme song, "Brewing Tea Under the Moon" has become an unforgettable melody for countless viewers. Yet "A Qiaopi Letter," another theme song, carries even greater significance.
The song was inspired by a real qiaopi—a letter with remittance certificates sent home by overseas Chinese—left by one of Li's ancestors. In 2012, moved by the affection in the letter, Li composed the song, drawing on traditional Teochew folk tunes. The gramophone-style narration in the intro is drawn verbatim from this century-old qiaopi. The piece incorporates traditional Chinese instruments: the yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) mimics the wandering footsteps of a traveler far from home, while the gaohu (a string instrument played with a bow) weaves in, sketching the longing of family members gazing across the sea toward one another.
Years later, the song became the end-credit song of "Dear You." As the film gained popularity, qiaopi culture and the nostalgia of the Nanyang reached a wider audience.
Not long ago, Li appeared as a guest on season two of the improvisational music travel show "Listen, Who Is Singing." On Nan'ao Island, he recounted the story behind the songto fellow musicians, including Kenji Wu, Lu Hu, Lu Zhuo, Zhang Zimo, Chen Zhuoxuan and Liu Fengyao, and performed the end-credit song. Check it out!
Text | Li Xin, Zhang Xuanzhen (intern), Zhang Mingyu (intern)
Photos & Videos | IP GUANGDONG creator Li Yihan
Design | Cheng Hong
