AFTER entering plush offices on the 19th floor of a building in a prosperous district of Beijing, ahead of an interview, actress and director Zhao Wei looked around at a loss.

    The large room was decorated with souvenirs and trophies, but appeared to have been ignored by its owner and was in need of a good reorganization.

    “I don’t come here often,” the 37-year-old explained.

    Zhao, director of the romantic drama “So Young,” lately has been too busy to visit her own offices because of a series of promotional events and interviews overseas.

    Her directorial debut, a low-budget movie set on a college campus in the mid-1990s, has taken more than 710 million yuan (US$115.8 million) in ticket sales in China since its release April 26, according to China Film News.

    Zhao is the first female director to break the 100-million-yuan mark in China with a debut film. The film’s earnings nearly matched those of “Iron Man 3,” which raked in 750 million yuan over about four weeks.

    Zhao said she was a little nervous on the night before “So Young” was released.

    “But not that nervous,” said the director, who is also known as Vicki Zhao. “The entire team had worked so hard in making the film.”

    Zhao attributed the movie’s box office success to the drama’s rare theme, which centered on early adulthood and was able to move audiences.

    “Chinese people have long been encouraged to move forward, but the film chose to look back on youthful days for things that matter in life,” Zhao said.

    “So Young” not only resonated with the lives of young moviegoers, but also struck a chord with the middle-aged and older.

    On the popular microblogging service Sina Weibo, more than 9.4 million posts discussing the film and early adulthood had been written as of June 8.

    The phenomenon is a lot greater than what Zhao could have expected.

    No one would have imagined the Little Swallow, the nickname of Princess Pearl, whom she portrayed in the popular TV series “Huanzhu Gege” (“Princess Pearl”) might one day become a director.

    Zhao was catapulted to fame after “Princess Pearl” was first shown in China in 1998, when she was just a sophomore at the Beijing Film Academy.

    In the years to follow, Zhao not only played roles in an array of films including Stephen Chow’s comedy “Shaolin Soccer” (2001) and John Woo’s epic “Red Cliff” (2008), but also released a couple of popular albums, including “Swallow “ (1999) and “Angel’s Suitcase” (2007).

    “No one’s success happens accidentally and I encountered good times when I was young,” she said.

    At the end of the 1990s, domestic TV dramas were flourishing in China, resulting in the creation of many idols. Zhao was one of the best known thanks to “Princess Pearl.”

    In 2006, Zhao went back to the Beijing Film Academy and became a postgraduate student pursuing a degree in directing.

    “If I didn’t make a change then, I would have lost my passion. You will grow impassive if you stand in the spotlight long enough,” she said.

    It can be difficult to become a director as an actor or actress, but that hasn’t been the case for Zhao.

    “I really enjoy being a director,” she said. “The only difference between acting and directing lies in the responsibilities.”

    Considering herself a perfectionist, Zhao was demanding about every single detail in her first directorial work.

    Away from films, Zhao enjoys reading. Like most of her peers, she is a fan of Louis Cha, a renowned Chinese writer who specialized in martial arts novels when she was a teenager.

    But movies are never far from her thoughts. Films conveying humanistic values are her favorites.

    “I like Ang Lee’s movies very much, like ‘The Wedding Banquet’ and ‘Pushing Hands’,” she said. For foreign movies, Zhao said she likes Iranian films such as “The Children of Heaven.”

    Moving forward, Zhao said she will devote herself to making domestic movies that convey values in humanity because the domestic market has huge potential in those themes.

    “The inherent value these kinds of films carry can be communicated and embraced by people in nations around the world,” she said.

    Epic films have been rulers of the Chinese box office since Zhang Yimou’s “Hero” became a hit in 2002. However, in the past two years, light comedies and dramas also have been thriving.

    Two movies, “Lost in Thailand,” a low-budget comedy by local director Xu Zheng, and “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons,” a period adventure comedy by Stephen Chow, raked in more than 1.2 billion yuan in China.

    Though Zhao has found success with her first directorial work, there is no timetable for a second movie.

    Zhao will play an eccentric artist in a return to acting in her next movie.

    “I’m reading some books on depression to prepare myself for the role,” she said. “It will be another challenge in my life.”

    (Xinhua)