A special European premiere of the Chinese box-office hit movie Dear You was held in London on Saturday.
The film tells the story of migrants from China's Chaoshan region who journey to Southeast Asia in search of a better life, and captures the pain of separation and the longing for home across generations.
Expecting an emotional response at the premiere, organizers made 400 packs of tissues available for audience members.
Huang Ping, executive chairwoman of the London Chinatown Chinese Association, said at the premiere that the film's themes of family affection, homesickness and companionship are familiar to many Chinese living overseas."
The feelings for family and homeland conveyed by the film transcend time and distance and the film also reflects the Chinese values of cherishing personal bonds," she said.
Actor Zheng Runqi, speaking to the audience via video link, said many people from the Chaoshan region, along with other overseas Chinese, have put down roots in Southeast Asia and Europe. "I hope that hearing the familiar dialect in the film brings them a sense of happiness," Zheng said.
Liu Shiyi, a London-based entrepreneur who grew up in Chaozhou, South China's Guangdong province, told Xinhua that his parents subsequently found old "qiaopi" preserved by the family after watching the film in China. The letters had been sent back by his great-grandfather's elder and younger brothers.
The modest-budget feature had, by June 20, grossed more than 1.8 billion yuan ($265.9 million) at the domestic box office since its Chinese mainland release on April 30, making it China's second-highest-grossing film so far this year.
