Now I Met Her

Official Selection, 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam

An angsty teenager discovers on his eighteenth birthday the diary of his late mother, whom he never met, sending him down a memory lane he did not know existed.

NOW I MET HER is a juicy, tearjerking melodrama with a delightful splash of Charlie Chaplin.

In her first comedic role, Golden Horse Best Actress Ma Sichun (Soul Mate, SDAFF Spring Showcase ‘17) plays Li Dongyu, who comes alive in her diary. She is anything but an ancestor: feisty, whimsical, forever smiling with eight teeth and full of unwavering life. She and three boyfriends from different periods of her life hustle their way from China’s Northeast to the coastal zone, lovingly embracing the heartbeats of the country’s economic reform. Her son, Shiyi (Korea-trained idol Justin Huang Minghao), finally meets the legend behind his inherited curly hair, with assists from the family puppy, perhaps the wisest of them all.

This feature debut of rising talent Xiao Luxi, who writes and directs, is produced by tragicomedy veteran Ning Hao (Crazy Stone, Crazy Racer) and his team. NOW I MET HER brings a familiar celebration of life’s resilience, this time with a little less darkness and many more colors.

– Alice Zheng