Inspired from the true story of thousands of floating dead pig carcasses found in Huangpu River in Shanghai in 2013, the dark comedy looks into some social issues through five struggling souls whose lives are overlapped.

During a recent Beijing promotional event, Jia says he was attracted to join the project after previewing a footage clip spanning around ten minutes from Yan, who once worked as a journalist of Wall Street Journal.

"I feel that through this kind of real event, which is a subject that I'm very familiar with, she can portray the various faces and vicissitudes of life in the transition period of modern China. I was impressed she has so many insights," explains more from Jia in a downtown theater on Jan 16.