Young Chinese performers work with US directors on a Chinese version of Fame, a Broadway hit about young people's pursuit of stardom. Provided to China Daily

Filmmaker Wu Hao made a documentary about a group of youngsters chasing their showbiz dreams in 2008. He returned to his subjects in 2012 to see who had their name in lights, and who had chosen an easier path. Liu Wei chats to the director about the unique challenges of pursuing fame in China.

The road to fame is not easy for most people, and independent filmmaker Wu Hao finds this especially true for a group of Chinese theater students.

For eight months in 2008, Wu followed the musical class of the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. That was the period when its students were involved in China's first collaboration with Broadway.

The 31 youngsters worked with three US directors on a Chinese version of Fame, the Broadway hit on the subject of young people's pursuit of stardom.

Initially, Wu planned a documentary about potential cultural conflicts in this US-China co-production. He was sensitive about the subject as someone who had spent 12 years in the United States, but as filming proceeded, more social issues raised his interest.

"The students think about 'me' a lot, but tend to attribute problems to factors other than themselves when things go wrong," Wu says.

The American directors and teachers of the academy divided the students into two casts, one was the official cast of the show while the other were understudies for the first group.

Cast B showed their fury and frustration in front of the camera. Some of them thought there must have been under-the-table deals.