The Whistleblower, an action-studded film teaming up Tang Wei and Lei Jiayin, was featured at a special screening during the 28th Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Festival in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province.

The screening held Wednesday reunited director Xue Xiaolu and the two stars, as well as a string of celebrities, including actress Yao Chen and actor Zu Feng.

Xue said she read a news story about a Chinese-Australian who was arrested on suspicion of taking part in a bribery case in 2009, giving her the inspiration for the film.

In the 139-minute film, a Chinese employee of an Australian energy company, played by Lei, has an one-night stand with his first lover, played by Tang, now the wife of a Chinese mining tycoon.

After the sweet yet guilty night, the woman boards a plane, which unfortunately crashes into the sea, apparently killing all the passengers. But the woman is surprisingly alive, drawing the man into a thrilling cross-continent adventure to unravel a crime, which involves major bribery.

The films marks director Xue's effort to shift from light romances to a big-budget action film.

Xue shot to fame in Jet Li's Ocean Heaven, and has earned more acclaim to soar to the A-list female directors' rank through box office hits Finding Mr Right, Book of Love and My People, My Country, which she co-directs with other six directors.

The film, which was shot in China, Australia and Africa, will open across the Chinese mainland on Dec 6.