2026-07-24
Dear You Wins Best Director
Dear You earned Lan Hongchun the Best Director prize at a film festival for SCO member states. The film is built around Chaoshan dialect, qiaopi letters, and a family story rooted in southern China. It opened in mainland China on April 30, 2026, then reached Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore on June 18. Its cast includes Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi, and Wang Xiaohui. Lan had already made earlier Chaoshan-language films, including Dad, I Can Do It and Take You to Meet My Mom.
A local story on an international stage
The award places Dear You in a setting that reaches far beyond its home region, yet the film keeps its focus on a specific family world. Its director, Lan Hongchun, is named for the Best Director honor, and the film’s identity stays tied to Chaoshan speech, old letters, and intimate domestic memory. That combination gives viewers a clear path into the story even if they do not speak the dialect.
Lan is not new to this lane. His earlier work includes Dad, I Can Do It and Take You to Meet My Mom, both mentioned as part of his Chaoshan-language track. That background helps explain why Dear You feels less like a sudden experiment and more like a continuation of his long-running interest in regional life on screen.
Why the film crosses language lines
The film is anchored by qiaopi, the special system of letters and remittances sent back by overseas Chinese families. In viewer terms, that gives the drama a built-in emotional bridge: a letter is something anyone can understand, even when the spoken language is unfamiliar. The story also uses Chaozhou opera, including Yu Butterfly, which adds a layer of music, ritual, and misunderstanding that can be read visually as well as heard.
The film’s family conflict is also easy to follow. One scene described in coverage has grandson Xiaowei learning that his grandfather has died and sending a message from Thailand. A phone projected for grandmother Ah Ma to watch Chaozhou opera accidentally reveals the news to her. That kind of sequence depends on timing, gesture, and emotion, not just dialogue.
Cast, release, and reach
Dear You opened in mainland China on April 30, 2026. On June 18, it reached Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, with later expansion also noted for places such as Malaysia and Brunei. The film’s cast list includes Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi, and Wang Xiaohui, all named as lead players.
The story’s reach also matches its production identity. It is a Chaoshan dialect drama from a director born in Shantou, working with a cast and subject matter rooted in southern Chinese family life. Those details help explain why the film could feel local and specific while still landing with audiences outside the region.
What viewers may feel first
For viewers, the film’s appeal is not only in its award recognition but in the way it turns regional culture into a family drama. The qiaopi tradition brings in history, migration, and responsibility. The dialect gives the characters texture. The Chaozhou opera scenes add sound and memory. Together, they make the film feel lived-in rather than explanatory.
The film also arrives with a strong creator profile. Lan Hongchun was born in Shantou and had already built a body of work in Chaoshan-language cinema. That continuity gives Dear You a sense of artistic direction: it is not trying to imitate a universal style, but to make one region’s emotional habits legible to a wider audience.