SHENZHEN-PRODUCED hit “Dear You,” a heartwarming no-star film on a modest budget of 14 million yuan (US$1.93 million), officially surpassed the 1 billion yuan mark at the box office yesterday.

Since its premiere April 30, the film has become a breakout sensation, but industry experts say its success is no fluke.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the film is the latest achievement of Shenzhen’s “rainforest ecosystem” for cultural creativity — a collaborative environment where government support, market forces, and social resources converge to incubate original talent and content.

Speaking Friday at the Forum on High-Quality Development of the Film Industry — part of the Forum on Building up China’s Cultural Strength 2026 held during the 22nd China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) — the film’s director, Lan Hongchun, emphasized that realism was the production team’s guiding principle.

The narrative follows a young man who travels to Thailand in search of his long-lost grandfather, whom he mistakenly believes to be a billionaire. His journey uncovers a family secret spanning half a century, poignantly reflecting the historic hardships and resilience of immigrants from Guangdong’s Chaoshan region.

To ensure authenticity, Lan and his team interviewed nearly 300 overseas Chinese families across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the U..S. They also conducted extensive research at a film archive in Thailand, studying decades-old footage of Chinese immigrants in cities like Bangkok.

“We have always believed that a good story is never fabricated out of thin air or deliberately embellished,” Lan said. “Instead, it grows from real life, from truth, and from the emotional fabric of ordinary people.”

The success of “Dear You” follows other Shenzhen-born cultural hits, including the globally touring dance drama “Wing Chun” and a recent surge in high-quality micro-dramas.

Official data underscores the city’s cultural boom. In 2025, Shenzhen’s cultural enterprises generated more than 1.5 trillion yuan in operating revenue, a 16.6% year-on-year increase. The sector’s value-added output has skyrocketed from 16.3 billion yuan in 2004 to over 300 billion yuan in 2025, now accounting for approximately 8% of the city’s GDP.

Central to this miracle is a “full-lifecycle” incubation system. The city has poured substantial finnancial support into original films. As a result, more than 20 low-budget films have come out in cinemas since 2019.

Beyond traditional cinema, Shenzhen is also a powerhouse in the digital space. According to DataEye, the city ranks second nationwide in short-drama exports, earning it the moniker “Capital of Global Short Dramas.”

The ICIF itself serves as a barometer for this growth. Now in its 22nd year, the fair has expanded from a 45,000-sqm exhibition to 160,000 sqm. Participating countries and regions have grown from 10 to 65, with this year’s event showcasing over 120,000 cultural products.

“Shenzhen is not only a hub for economy, tech, and talent, but also a rising cultural highland,” said Li Daoxin, a professor at Peking University’s School of Arts. He believed the city is well-positioned to create iconic cultural works that share the narratives of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, and the global community. (Li Jing)