More than eight years ago, when director Wang Xiaolie was preparing to shoot Hero Dog, a TV series about a legendary pet canine, he stumbled upon a stunning fact — the country had around 100 million families that raised dogs as pets.

With the belief that a tale based on the relationship between humans and dogs would resonate with a large number of viewers, he has been haunted by the idea of creating such a story since then.

In 2020, Wang published his novella My Father Is a "Dog", which has later been adapted into So Long for Love, a 105-minute movie.

Also directed by Wang, the movie, which recently held its premiere in Beijing, will be released across the country on Friday.

Starring actors Wu Jing and Tan Songyun as a father and his high school student daughter, the tale unfolds as the father takes the girl to ski in Altay prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Unfortunately, the father has an accident, leaving him in a comatose state.

The mother, played by actress Yan Ni, is faced with the dilemma of letting him slip away peacefully or keep on artificially prolonging his life.

However, her decision infuriates the daughter and leads to a crisis in their relationship. The tension is eventually changed by a Labrador puppy, which sneaks out of a pet shop and enters their lives, ultimately repairing the family rift.

During the premiere, actress Yan revealed the movie casts a total of three Labradors, who has enhanced her understanding of the harmonious relationship between humankind and animals. "Despite they (dogs) don't' speak, you will find that they could understand most of your emotions and always accompany you as an intimate friend," she said.