Filmmaker Wu Hao meets with his fans at SXSW. [MAY ZHOU / CHINA DAILY]

While the story is shocking to many, there are parallels in the US, Wu said. After all, there are YouTube stars and Instagram stars that many people don't follow. "We also have losers here. We also have lonely young people looking for validation online, people who show off online looking for gratification."

The film is also about capitalism, Wu said. The difference is that in the US there is the so-called lifestyle and brand to package it, while in China people talk about money directly.

Wu spent roughly eight months filming Big Li and Shen Man, the two social media stars, and some of their fans, ranging from poor migrant workers to rich business owners.

The story covers their real life and online streaming in a span of two years. Some footage features intimate personal details. Wu said he achieved this by being persistent and staying long enough for people to forget the camera was rolling.

Though the finished story is complicated, lots of material was not included in the final edit.

"What you see is on the surface," Wu said. "The reality is more complex, their personal lives and the platform is more complex. I did so to make the film digestible. I included Shen Man's crying footage because she was being vulnerable [even though] she knew she was on camera," Wu said

Wu updated the audience on the lives of his main characters: they are still on YY. Big Li and Dabao got back together and they don't fight as much. Dabao was a housewife for two years and now owns another agency. Shen Man is still live-streaming but with an ebbing popularity.

This is Wu's third documentary. He also directed Beijing or Bust in 2005 and The Road to Fame in 2014. He said he's interested in telling stories about China because there are a lot of stories there and he has access to them.