After a string of hit romances, director Xue Xiaolu's latest film delves into the murky world of corporate crime, Xu Fan reports.

From the 2013 hit Finding Mr Right to its follow-up blockbuster Book of Love in 2016, Xue Xiaolu has enhanced her status as one of the highest-grossing female directors in China in recent years.

Despite both films having demonstrated her talent for directing romance flicks, the director surprisingly says love stories are not her favorite subject.

"Actually, I've always liked crime thrillers that are driven by twists in plotlines," says Xue, during a recent interview.

The Beijing native-whose directorial debut Ocean Heaven made a splash in 2010-has now fulfilled her long-held desire to direct a crime thriller.

Her latest outing, The Whistleblower, which teams up A-list stars Tang Wei and Lei Jiayin, was simultaneously released in China, the United Kingdom and the United States on Dec 6, and in Australia on Dec 12.

Her inspiration for the movie goes back to 2009, when Xue read a news story that a Chinese-Australian businessman was detained on suspicion of receiving bribes, which prompted her to research other similar real-life cases.

In 2013, Xue contacted the headquarters of FBI in Washington DC, and gained access to conduct interviews with people involved in other international bribery cases. She also visited two private investigation agencies in the US capital as detectives from such firms are often hired to take part in probes when a major corporate is involved in a scandal.

After discovering that most of these cases were exposed by "whistleblowers", Xue realized the term-which refers to insiders who report illegal trading or other activities-was still a fresh concept to Chinese audiences.

"Whistleblowers are very brave individuals. When they choose to speak out, they place themselves and even their families in peril, taking a high-stakes risk that could ruin their career prospects," says Xue.