Author, movie star ... what a difference seven hours makes

Since graduating from university in the US two years ago, Jennifer Li has lived a life most young women only dream of. She's the author of a best-selling novel, Sheep With Wings, based on her experiences studying in England. She's played herself in a film based on the book and, to cap it all, one of Hong Kong's hottest young stars, Edison Chen Koon-hei, played her boyfriend.

Li, who grew up in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, went to school in England for two years at the age of 16 before moving to the US to study economics at the University of Denver. When she returned to Shenzhen in 2001, her father suggested she write about her experiences of studying overseas. 'He wanted me to practise my Chinese writing,' Li says.

During the next few months she came up with her first novel, Sheep With Wings, which deals with friendship, first love and the cultural differences between students at a school in England. The book has been a big hit on the mainland, where it's sold more than 130,000 copies and has been reprinted 10 times since it first appeared in June 2002. As well, Li received the National Best Selling Book Award in 2002 and the second annual China Women's Literature Award earlier this year.

'The publisher liked it because it's different to other accounts of Chinese teenagers studying abroad,' says Li. 'You expect these stories to be dark and upsetting and all about how other people don't like you and you don't fit in. But the book is actually quite positive. It's more like a typical teenager's biography about friends and boyfriends and the usual teenage stuff.'

Not long after the book was published, Li met a young Shenzhen-based director, A Gan, who was convinced it would make an interesting film. Although several films aimed at children and teenagers are made each year in China, they're often not as realistic as they could be because of censorship restrictions. A Gan believed that a story set in England would stand a better chance of gaining official approval. Also, it would have a large audience because studying abroad captures the imagination of not only Chinese teenagers, but also their parents.

A Gan suggested that Li write a screenplay based on the book, and used his contacts in Hong Kong and Britain to get the film off the ground. Li's mother also played a part, raising the US$1 million budget from private investors. Because it made sense to shoot on location in England, A Gan brought in a British producer and some British crew, but decided to use a Hong Kong cinematographer, Yu Kwok-bing. The film, which has the English title Seven Hour Difference, was shot in October and November this year in an old school building in Basingstoke. The exterior shots were filmed in Oxford and London. Li auditioned against professional actresses to play herself in the film and says her first acting experience was much more nerve-wracking than leaving home to study in England - particularly because she had to act with a star like Chen.