Public film listings identify Xin Yumeng as the director of Niu Lai and Sun Lifang as the screenwriter. Both are also associated with voice roles. A pre-release interview, recorded on August 2 and reported on August 18, adds a useful first-person account of how Xin describes the hands-on production process.
Xin Yumeng
Xin Yumeng is credited as director and is also publicly associated with production and voice work on the film. In an interview recorded before the movie opened, Xin said the film took him five years and that he made it himself, using equipment he had bought second-hand. He also said the production did not use AI elements. These are Xin's own statements about the production process and are presented as such.
Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media Co., Ltd., the first production company named in the National Film Administration’s screening-permit notice, is also publicly linked to Xin in company reporting.
Sun Lifang
Sun Lifang is credited as the film’s screenwriter and is also listed in voice-related roles. Some reports additionally attribute songwriting and performance work to her.
Was Niu Lai literally made by only two people?
The phrase “made by two people” appeared widely in early media coverage because Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang carry multiple prominent credits. The later interview adds nuance: Xin personally described spending five years making the film himself, while Sun Lifang remains publicly credited as screenwriter and in voice-related work. For precision, this guide separates credited creative roles from Xin's first-person description of the hands-on production work.
This distinction avoids a false choice between “one person” and “two people.” Public credits identify more than one contributor, while Xin specifically described himself as carrying out the film's five-year production work.
Production company
The National Film Administration’s public notice identifies Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media Co., Ltd. as the first production company for the film under screening permit 电审动字〔2024〕第33号.
Sources
Lists Niu Lai (牛来) under screening permit 电审动字〔2024〕第33号 and identifies Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media Co., Ltd. as the first production company.
Provides stable film metadata including the August 5, 2026 mainland China release, 86-minute runtime, director Xin Yumeng and writer Sun Lifang.
Documents the early low-box-office period, the rapid rise in online attention, the distributor, the 86-minute runtime and key creator roles.
English-language summary of the early box-office figure, social-media spread and public production information.
Reports an interview recorded on August 2 in which Xin Yumeng said he spent five years making the film himself and did not use AI elements. The report also records the August 18 ¥20-million box-office milestone from Dengta Professional Edition.