Lighting Up the Stars

Lighting Up the Stars 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.

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.

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 as Old Mo, Mo Sanmei's father.
 * Zheng Weili as Madam Mo, Mo Sanmei's elder sister.
 * Janice Wu as Xi Xi, Mo Sanmei's ex-girlfriend.
 * Chen Chuang as Uncle Wu, Wu Xiaowen's uncle.
 * Li Chunyuan as Wu Haifei, Wu Xiaowen's mother.
 * Zhou Dan as Aunt, Wu Xiaowen's aunt.
 * Wang Aizhi as Grandmother, Wu Xiaowen's maternal grandmother.

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

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.

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