Chinese students' 'La La Land' video goes viral

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An eight-minute musical film inspired by the Hollywood hit "La La Land" produced by students, staff and alumni of Xiamen Foreign Language School has become an online hit in China.

The students made their own version of "Another Day of Sun," one of the most popular songs from the 2016 movie.

Crew members edit the video clips. /Photo via Xiamen Daily

The micro musical, inspired by the opening number from "La La Land", was viewed more than three million times within 48 hours, and has had in excess of 34,000 reposts.

By Wednesday, total views of the video on Chinese social media platform Weibo topped 7.5 million.

Instead of being set against the backdrop of a traffic jam on a Los Angeles highway, the students chose a more familiar location for their production – the campus.

The aspirations of becoming a movie star depicted in the Hollywood movie were replaced with high school students' drive to pursue their dreams.

Film shooting on campus. /Photo via Xiamen Daily

The video also took inspiration from the original film's impressive long take by using a four-minute shot to show students' life at school, including their joys and disappointments.

The video was co-directed by Jiang Ruiyang and Teng Yifei, who both graduated from Xiamen Foreign Language School in 2016.

Jiang has just finished his first year at Columbia College Chicago, while Teng is at the Beijing Film Academy.

Both are fans of "La La Land" and decided to make their own tribute to the film.

Jiang Ruiyang and Teng Yifei, directors of the micro film. /Photo via souhu.com

Sponsored by alumni, they selected 60 actors and actresses, 20 crew members and rehearsed and shot their short in only one month.

The micro musical has been widely praised on Chinese social media, with many admiring the directors' talent and creativity.

Students practice before filming. /Photo via Xiamen Daily

"A long-take youth. Bravo!" posted @Mr. Ziyi on Weibo.

"I was touched when the girl woke up and found it was only a dream at the end. How many daydreams I had when I had moments' drifting away during my high school years, and how many times I had to wake up to work on with my test questions to answer," posted @XiaoheiLyon.

Students gather to practice and discuss script. /Photo via Xiamen Daily‍

"La La Land" has been parodied or recreated by many students since its release in December 2016.

The film was an instant box office smash and won six Oscars out of 14 nominations, including Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Song for "City of Stars".

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