Lighting Up the Stars

Lighting Up the Stars (Chinese: 人生大事; pinyin: Rénshēng Dàshì; lit. 'Life Events') is a 2022 Chinese drama film written and directed by Liu Jiangjiang, starring Zhu Yilong and Yang Enyou. The film follows the story of a mortician released from prison who meets an orphan during a funeral, which unexpectedly changes his attitude towards career and life.^[3]

Lighting Up The Stars
Film poster
Chinese	人生大事
Hanyu Pinyin	rénshēng dàshì
Directed by	Liu Jiangjiang
Screenplay by	Liu Jiangjiang
Produced by	Han Yan
Starring	Zhu Yilong Yang Enyou
Cinematography	Zhao Yuqing
Edited by	Zhu Lin Wei Yong Gao Qiongjiali
Production companies	Lian Ray Pictures Hengdian Entertainment Co., Ltd. China Film Co., Ltd.
Distributed by	China Film Co., Ltd.
Release date	June 24, 2022 (2022-06-24) (Mainland China)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Budget	$8 million (including marketing and promotion)
Box office	$253.8 million[1][2]

The film premiered in China on 24 June 2022. The total box office of the film is 1.712 billion yuan, ranking the 4th in China's 2022 box office list.^[4]

Plot

Mortician Mo Sanmei (played by Zhu Yilong) meets orphan Wu Xiaowen (played by Yang Enyou) during a funeral shortly after his release from prison. With reluctance, Mo takes care of Xiaowen and this decision burdens Mo further on top of his existing life problems. After a series of mishaps, this unlikely father-daughter pair develops a special relationship, and it changes how Mo views his job as a mortician and life.

Cast

• Zhu Yilong as Mo Sanmei, a mortician.
• Yang Enyou as Wu Xiaowen, an orphan.
• Wang Ge as Wang Jianren, a mortician and assistant to Mo Sanmei.
• Liu Lu as Yin Baixue, a mortician who plays the suona.
• Luo Jingmin [zh] as Old Mo, Mo Sanmei's father.
• Zheng Weili [zh] as Madam Mo, Mo Sanmei's elder sister.
• Janice Wu as Xi Xi, Mo Sanmei's ex-girlfriend.
• Chen Chuang [zh] as Uncle Wu, Wu Xiaowen's uncle.
• Li Chunyuan [zh] as Wu Haifei, Wu Xiaowen's mother.
• Zhou Dan as Aunt, Wu Xiaowen's aunt.
• Wang Aizhi as Grandmother, Wu Xiaowen's maternal grandmother.

Soundtrack

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Lighting Up the Stars (人生大事)" (Opening theme)	Zhao Zhao	Zhao Zhao	Zhao Zhao
2.	"People Who Grow Stars (种星星的人)" (Ending theme)	Li Shutong	John Pond Ordway	Zhu Yilong/ Yang Enyou
3.	"Search for Child Year after year (寻儿记一年复年)" (Interlude)			Zhang Qiaozhen
4.	"A Happy Event in the World (人间喜事)" (Interlude)	Xia Xiaozhi	Wang Nana	Xia Xiaozhi
5.	"Go to Heaven (上天堂)" (Interlude)	Liang Long	Liang Long	Second Hand Rose

Production

Liu Jiangjiang began to write the screenplay in 2019, which was inspired by the funeral culture in north China.^[5] Han Yan (director) [zh] read Liu Jiangjiang's drafts and gave notes for improvement.^[6]

Lighting Up the Stars began production on 27 May 2021, in Wuhan and finished filming on 1 August.

Release

Lighting Up the Stars was slated for release on 2 April 2022 (Qingming Festival), but was postponed to 24 June 2022.^[7]

Theatrical and Box Office

Release Date	Country	Theatrical Engagements	Total Box Office
2022-06-24	Mainland China	529,022	$253,770,000[1]
2022-08-04	Australia	44	$42,191[2]
2022-08-04	New Zealand	12	$6,877[2]
2022-08-05	Canada	Limited
2022-08-05	United States	Limited

Streaming and viewership

Release Date	Streaming service	Available Area	Viewership
2022-08-26	IQIYI, Tencent Video, Youku, Mango TV, Xigua Video	Mainland China
2022-09-24	Netflix	Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam[8]	WEEKS IN TOP 10: 3 weeks in Hong Kong, 1 week in Malaysia, 1 week in Singapore, 6 weeks in Taiwan, 1 week in Thailand, 3 weeks in Vietnam.[9]

Reception

Douban, a major Chinese media rating site, gave the drama 7.3 out of 10.^[10]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Golden Rooster Awards	November 13, 2022	Best Picture	Lighting Up the Stars	Nominated	[11]
		Best Directorial Debut	Liu Jiangjiang	Won	[11]
		Best Actor	Zhu Yilong	Won	[11]
		Best Actress	Yang Enyou	Nominated	[11]
		Best Cinematography	Zhao Yuqing	Nominated	[11]
		Best Sound Recording	Wang Gang/ Liu Xiaosha	Nominated	[11]
		Best Editing	Zhu Lin/ Wei Yong/ Gaoqiong Jiali	Nominated	[11]
Asian Film Awards	March 12, 2023	Best Newcomer	Yang Enyou	Nominated	[12][13]
		Best Screenplay	Liu Jiangjiang, Yu Min	Nominated
		Best Editing	Zhu Lin, Wei Yong, Gao Qiongjiali	Nominated