A scene from Crosscurrent.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"So, this film is kind of a surprise for them－seeing a beautiful China."

Speaking of problems faced by art-house filmmakers, Yang, also a movie professor at the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, says they have low budgets, which limits them.

Typically, art-house filmmakers work with about 4 million yuan ($610,000) or less.

But Yang raised around 35 million yuan and convinced Taiwan photographer Mark Lee Ping-bin to join him.

Lee, who has partnered with Cannes-winning director Hou Hsiao-hsien for decades, is a luxury most independent directors cannot afford.

Lee, also a past winner of the Berlinale Silver Bear, says it was a cultural connection that prompted him to accept Yang's offer.

He says the Yangtze River is a source of civilization and has inspired numerous poems and literary works in the past 2,000 years.

He adds that following the Yangtze from Shanghai upriver to its headstream in Qinghai province was also a great chance for him to record the beauty of China's longest river.