As the second directorial feature of actor-turned filmmaker Chen Jianbin, the arthouse film The Eleventh Chapter will open across domestic theaters on April 2.

With a stellar cast, the film gathers veterans like Zhou Xun, Song Jia and Da Peng as well as the singer-turned actress Dou Jingtong, who won for best supporting actress at the ninth Beijing International Film Festival's Tiantan Awards.

In the fictional tale, Ma Fuli -- the protagonist played by Chen-- was once sentenced to 15 years after being accused of murdering his cheating ex-wife and her boyfriend by crashing into them with a tractor. However, it was actually an accident.

Thirty years later, Ma regains a peace to get married with a single mother, who has a daughter. But a local theater troupe surprisingly plans to adapt Ma's previous sensational case into a stage show, forcing Ma -- whose life is disturbed again -- to seek a means to unearth the truth.

The film marks Chen's latest directorial effort after he obtained critical acclaim from his directorial debut A Fool in 2015.

Chen says during a premiere held in Beijing on March 29 says that his passion and love of theater moved him to make such a film, which employs a theatrical format to explore the absurdity of real life.

"I have stayed in the Central Academy of China for 12 years, and I have performed stage shows for a long time. The experience has given me a special connection with and fascination for theater," says Chen, who graduated from and later worked at the academy.

The film divides the story into 10 chapters, each with a different title to reflect the narrative changes, but the 11th chapter -- also used as the name of the film -- is not featured in the film, creating an open ending.

So far, the film -- which was held some advanced screenings -- has gained 8.4 points out of 10 on the popular review site Douban.

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