Poster of Zhang Meng's comedy The Piano in a Factory starring Qin Hailu and Wang Qianyuan (SINA.COM)

The Piano in a Factory starring Qin Hailu and Wang Qianyuan will dominate the tail end of this June with a thunderous nationwide release on June 30, Sina.com reports.

The film missed out on early screenings to preempt the simmering box office market in June as filmmakers and investors couldn't decide on the film's official name. However, they finally decided to use the original, Gang De Qin in Chinese, which literally means a steel piano.

Indeed, it is a story about a steel piano a laid-off father attempts to make to please his daughter and win custody from his divorced wife.

The story is set against a backdrop of a wasted industrial base in northeast China in the 1990s and involves a group of little characters who struggle through that transforming period.

The small-budget comedy, distinct from more low-brow slapsticks, was met with high acclaim from industry professionals and movie critics. It has been admitted into many international film festivals and got two limited screenings on the Chinese mainland so far.

Born in northeast China, director Zhang Meng dealt with the period in a sincerely offbeat approach by infusing something humorous, stubborn, self-mocking into the film tinged with a tone of sadness.

He sees this work as more of a commercial flick but with a strong artistic taste.

The emerging director once won the Asia New Talent Award of the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival with his directorial debut Lucky Dog.

Male lead Wang Qianyuan was crowned best actor for the film at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival.

Renowned South Korean director Kwak Jae-yong also worked in the production team as executive producer.

(CRIENGLISH.com June 3, 2011)