Known primarily for the box office hit comedy series “Detective Chinatown” (2015), Chen Sicheng makes his first attempt at literary adaptation with the period drama “Decoded”, based on the novel of the same name by Mai Jia. His seventh feature premiered in June 2024 at the Weibo Awards Ceremony, and was released in Chinese theatres in August, grossing around 47 million Usd. Abroad, the film was shown at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival, where Sicheng received the Golden Pyramid Honorary Award.

Decoded is screening in Far East FIlm Festival

Set against the backdrop of the war-torn China in the 1940s, the story follows an exceptionally gifted young man, Rong Jinzhen (Haoran Liu). When he attends university, his mathematical abilities catch the attention of Jan Liseiwicz (John Cusack), a visiting Polish professor, who encourages him to pursue studies in the field of artificial intelligence. Later, Rong becomes a highly regarded code-breaker for a covert intelligence agency.