The feature film is directed by Daniel Roher, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2023 for Navalny.

Blending romance, drama, and the suspense of a crime thriller, Tuner follows Niki, a gifted piano tuner whose extraordinary hearing allows him not only to tune a Steinway to perfection, but also to crack safes. His unusual talent soon attracts the attention of a criminal network, drawing him into an increasingly dangerous world.

A former piano prodigy forced to abandon his promising musical career, Niki finds comfort in working alongside his mentor, Harry. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Ruthie, a composition student with whom he develops a deep connection. As their relationship grows, Niki’s secret life as a safecracker threatens to destroy everything he has begun to build.

“It’s a genuine pleasure to watch Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman in Tuner, a relaxed and effortlessly engaging drama that combines romantic-comedy beats with a laid-back crime thriller,” wrote The Guardian in its review of the film.

Alongside Woodall — known for his performances in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Nuremberg, and The White Lotus — and two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, audiences will also see Tony Award-winning actress Tovah Feldshuh, as well as Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, and Jean Reno.

Writing for Empire, critic Harry Stainer described Tuner as the film that firmly establishes Leo Woodall as a leading man, “proving beyond doubt that he is ready to carry a feature film.” Stainer also praised the film’s remarkable sound design: “No movie since Whiplash has made audiences listen so closely to every note, key, and click. Roher turns sound into something almost tactile, whether we are watching a piano performance or hearing Niki decode the intricate mechanisms of a safe.”

Meanwhile, Henry K. Miller wrote for BFI that “Tuner is one of the most beautifully shot love stories in recent memory. Daniel Roher’s neo-noir finds a surprising harmony between romance and action.”

The film had its first Romanian screenings at the American Independent Film Festival and is already playing in preview screenings in selected cinemas ahead of its nationwide release.

Tuner opens in Romanian cinemas on June 19 and is distributed by Prorom and CAY Films.