Actors Adrien Brody and Tim Robbins have joined director Xiaogang Feng’s new project about the Chinese famine of 1942, which resulted in the death of an estimated 1 million people. Though the movie does not yet have a title, Feng and his production partner, Huayi Brothers, say it will be based on the Liu Zhenyun novel Remembering 1942. The famine, unfortunately one of many in China’s history, took place during the second Sino-Japanese War from 1942 to 1943.

Feng is best known for his 2010 pic Aftershock, depicting the story of a family separated by a devastating earthquake in 1976 China. Aftershock earned him an Achievement in Directing nomination and a Best Film award at the 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Hit the jump for more on the project.

Variety reports that Feng had announced the project as early as April and planned to begin production this fall in order to release the pic in 2012. The novel focuses on the human crisis during the famine which evolved from a drought and governmental negligence due to the war. The story is set in the Henan province of central China, close to home for Zhenyun. Zhenyun had also written Cell Phone, off of which Feng based his 2003 film of the same name.

Brody was last seen in Midnight in Paris and is currently in production on Stigmata-director Rupert Wainwright’s Waco. Robbins played the villain opposite Ryan Reynolds in this year’s Green Lantern and is currently filming Thanks for Sharing with Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow.