Hi Mom: comedy about death and parenthood becomes one of China's biggest film hits

Written by and starring comedian Jia Ling, the film has started a conversation about mother's love and women's identity

A Chinese comedian's directoral debut about a woman who travels back in time to see her dead mother has become the fourth highest grossing film in the country's history and the highest ever for a female director.

Jia Ling's Hi Mom opened a fortnight ago and has drawn ticket sales of more than 4.5bn RMB ($700m US), according to box office tracker Maoyan. It is the fastest any Chinese movie has sold that much, the tracker said.