Self-educated and independent filmmaker YANG Lina (China) was a dancer for ten years before she started her training as an actress at the arts academy. After graduating, she moved on to making documentaries including "Old Men" (1999) and "The Love Story of Lao An" (2008), both of which screened at international festivals. She was one of the lead actors in Jia Zhangke's "Platform" (2000). "Longing for the Rain" is her first feature film.