Liu Yulin (left) directs the upcoming film, Someone to Talk To, adapted from her father Liu Zhenyun's (right) novel, A Word is Worth Ten Thousand Words. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Meanwhile, though most of Liu's novels have been turned into films by veteran filmmaker Feng Xiaogang, this time the award-winning author chose to work with a young person.

Liu Yulin, Liu's New York University-educated daughter, persuaded her father and he agreed.

Recalling the phone conversation that won him over, Liu says his daughter's answers about "how one can be a good director" satisfied him.

Liu Yulin's statement about "not letting the audience see the director in the movie" sealed the deal.

And though the director is the author's daughter, her credentials as a filmmaker are impressive.

The 29-year-old first garnered Western attention for her directorial debut, Door God.

The short film－depicting a 6-year-old girl's yearning for maternal love－won her, then still a student in the United States, a silver medal in the Narrative Category at the 41st Student Academy Awards in 2014.