Off to a galloping start

For Shapkat, who was born into an ethnic Uygur family in 1987, the movie is the reward for a decade spent honing his filmmaking skills. He hopes that it will serve as an inspiration for individuals with dreams, and urge them to persevere with their chosen passions.

"When I was told that I was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award, my first reaction was to ask: 'Really? Are you joking with me?' I was very happy that my debut feature received the highest recognition in China's film industry, which is a great encouragement. I feel that the challenges and difficulties I went through during filming were all worth it," Shapkat says.

The script was revised more than 10 times between late 2019 and early 2020.Additionally, the director and his crew traveled to the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, Tacheng prefecture and Altay in Xinjiang to audition more than 1,000 children in a bid to find the perfect actors.