Gong Li is considering the favourite roles of her long and distinguished career. “Personally speaking from all the roles I played all these years, I should say there are three movies that are most important to me,” the Chinese mega-star says.

The first is Zhang Yimou’s The Story of Qiu Ju, his 1992 tale of “a countryside woman” that won her the Venice Film Festival’s Volpi Cup for best actress and saw the film collect the prestigious festival’s Golden Lion for best movie.