Adapted from the popular 2015 TV series How I Became Russian, an eponymous movie is scheduled to play at cinemas in China starting Jan 25.

A collaborative work between China and Russia, the new comedy is actually reminiscent of the American hit film Meet the Parents, chronicling a series of humorous events that befall a Shanghainese guy while meeting his prospective Russian father-in-law in Moscow for the first time.

During the premiere in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong province, on Jan 12, Xia Hao, who co-directed the film together with his Russian counterpart Akaki Sahelashvili, noted that the freezing weather in Russia posed a great challenge for the crew, as a majority of the scenes were set outdoors in the snow-blanketed landscapes.

The collaboration is a result of the first the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival, which took place in June in Qingdao. The film will be shown in SCO member states.