80% of young people in China report social anxiety about their appearance. In Little Garlic, we used a shapeshifting metaphor to tell the youth: you are enough.

Bridging Hollywood director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) with Chinese screenwriter Pan Yiran, my role was to make sure every decision — from casting to script to song — felt genuinely local. I insisted on Fan Wei as the grandfather, a casting choice that immediately gave the film credibility with Chinese audiences nationwide.

We also built the buzz into the production itself — inviting tech creator Tim Pan (10M+ followers) on set for a fan-POV BTS that became its own viral moment.