Photo: Courtesy of Ma Da

As the lights turned back on in the theater, most people in the audience, both young and old, were still wiping the tears from their eyes. Touched by the story they had just seen, they left the theater with a great empathy for the film's protagonist. 

The Aguojiqu held an early screening in Beijing on Thursday. A bio-pic, the film delves into the heart-breaking true story of Hailai Amu, a young man from the Yi ethnic group living in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Hailai Amu dreams of becoming a famous singer but has been unable to kick off his career. Poor and unable to succeed in his music work, his wife asks for a divorce. Worse still, his beloved daughter Aguo Jiqu is diagnosed with intestinal malrotation and is in dire need of surgery to correct it. Hailai Amu tries to raise the money for the surgery, but his daughter passes away before he even comes close. 

Photo: Courtesy of Ma Da

Trying to deal with the pain of his loss, Hailai Amu writes the song "Aguojiqu," which quickly goes viral on Chinese social media including Sina Weibo and Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. The high popularity brings the 27-year-old singer the wealth he always dreamed of, but it comes far too late to save him from his regrets.

"Although my real age is 27 years old, I think my mental age has reached about 40 after experiencing so many things," Hailai Amu, who earned 5.056 million followers on Douyin, told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that it still hurts to sing the song.

After the screening, the host invited the audience to share their thoughts about the film. Some people said that they found comfort, hope and warmth in the film even though the story hit them right in the heart as well. 

"The most important theme conveyed in the movie is to be born to love," the film's producer Ma Da told the Global Times . He added that he hopes audiences will also be able to see the beauty of the scenery and people in Hailai Amu's hometown through the film. 

The film is scheduled to be released in early December on Chinese streaming platforms, according to Ma.