A Q&A session featuring The Piano in a Factory from the Competition section was held as follows:

Date & Time: October 28th (Thursday), from 19:30 @TOHO Cinemas Roppngi Hills Screen 6
Appearance: Zhang Meng (director/screenplay), Wang Qian-yuan (actor), Jessica Kam (producer), Choi Gwang-suk (producer)


Here are some notes and quotes:

Zhang Meng (ZM): I very recently finished the post production and so it was my first time to watch the film too! I'm very happy with how it came out.

Wang Qian-yuan (WQY): Thank you for coming to watch this film today. I hope you like this film just as I love Tokyo!

Jessica Kam (JK): This is our Asian premiere and so it's a very special day. I'm glad that we are able to share this moment together

Choi Gwang-suk (CGS): I hope you were able to relate to this to some extent.

Q: Is the woman who divorces the main character a Korean actress?

CGS: That actress is called Jang Shin-yeong, a Korean actress.

JK: We chose a Korean actress for that role, firstly because of commercial reasons. That will probably help us expand our sales in Korea as well. Also, Jang Shin-yeong is a very good actress and she fits the image of the role.

Q: All the actors seemed to have a north eastern Chinese accent. Were they from that part of China?

ZM: Yes. This film was shot in north eastern China in the Liaoning province called Anshan. We used an iron factory in Anshan and another location called Hongqi Tractor Factory.

Q: What is the source of energy and teamwork in the film?

WQY:I see Chen Guilin's leadership is an inevitable result. When he wanted to buy a piano, he couldn't borrow any money and when he tried to steal one, he also failed. So he had no choice but to make one. Yet, perhaps he had the potential to take leadership. I am sure that there are many Chinese people like him.

ZM: When you are under the circumstances of the inevitable, you are able to exert your leadership. Chen Guilin exerted a strong leadership which came from his deep love towards his daughter.

Q: Was the sound of the piano that was competed in the end the actual sound of that piano?

ZM: The actual piano did make some sound, but not as beautiful as the one you heard...!

Q: Many of the factory workers were very heavy smokers. Were they really smoking all those cigarettes?

CGS:The story is set in the 1980s when many people were smoking cigarettes just like those men. There still wasn't much talk about banning smoking. Also, the setting is in a industrial district where most of the factories have been shut down and the workers laid off. I had the actors smoke a lot so that they would make smoke come out of the chimneys that no longer gave off smoke from the factories. So, the actors were chain smoking on site but we had a bucket of water so that they could extinguish their cigarettes right away.

The Piano in a Factory

Film Information