When director Liang Ming returned to his hometown city of Yichun in Heilongjiang province during the Spring Festival holiday in 2012, he didn't hang out with friends or join in family feasts as usual.

Instead, Liang chose to stay alone. Driven by a passion for writing, which Liang describes as his way of talking to the world, he wrote the script for Wisdom Tooth.

Inspired by real stories he heard as a youngster, the film interweaves the tension between a pair of siblings, with a mysterious murder in a coastal city in Northeastern China, touching on various social issues in the process, including China's hukou (household registration) system and environmental issues.

A graduate who majored in acting at Communication University of China, Liang started his career in the film and TV industry as an actor, but some stereotypical cameo roles and rigid performance requirements had dampened his enthusiasm in front of the camera.

Many directors like to strictly 'control' their actors. I was once told how to walk and make gestures, and even told the degree of the angle I should raise my chin during a scene in which my character was required to look upward, recalls Liang, describing his early acting experiences as resembling that of a puppet.

Despite the scenes featuring his and Huang's characters were cut from the final version, the film gave him a fresh perspective as the experience enabled him to completely immerse himself in the character's world.

Lou gave the actors a lot of freedom. He helped me to establish a comfortable bond with the role, making me believe that I actually was the character while on set, says Liang.

The methods of guiding actors that Liang learned from director Lou have worked for his maiden directorial outing. When arriving on set, I just told the actors to act and speak in their own way. I wanted them to feel relaxed and comfortable, thus better placed to find the characters within themselves.

For Liang, the film also marks his tribute to the comparatively simple and tranquil life before the unprecedented change brought about by the expansion of the internet.

Cassette tapes－once the prevailing format for youngsters to enjoy music－are featured as a symbolic element in the film.

When the female protagonist walks in on an intimate moment between her brother and his girlfriend, she flees from the situation in shock and, while running from the house, a cassette tape falls from her pocket only to be scratched and buried in thick snow. The scene symbolizes the end of her carefree youth.

It is the film's accurate depiction of adolescent women's pain that has found empathic favor among a female audience, exemplified by questions posed to the creators during film festivals and online.

The film, which touches on issues that many can in some way relate, offers a rare glimpse into the delicate and complex world of young women.

(CGTN)