Birthday:
05-24-1970
(54 years)
Birthplace:
Fenyang, Shanxi, China
Biography
Jia Zhang-ke (Chinese: 贾樟柯; pinyin: Jiǎ Zhāngkē, born 24 May 1970; Fenyang) is a Chinese film and television director, screenwriter, producer, actor and writer. He is the dean of the Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Media College and the dean of the Vancouver Film School of Shanghai University. He graduated from the Literature Department of Beijing Film Academy. He is generally regarded as a leading figure of the "Sixth Generation" movement of Chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, Wang Quan'an and Zhang Yuan.
Jia's early films, a loose trilogy based in his home province of Shanxi, were made outside of China's state-run film bureaucracy, and therefore are considered "underground" films. Beginning in 2004, Jia's status in his own country rose when he was allowed to direct his fourth feature film, The World, with state approval. Jia's films have received critical praise and have been recognized internationally, notably winning the Venice Film Festival's top award Golden Lion for Still Life. He received the Leopard of Honour at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010, the Carrosse d'Or lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, and an honorary award at the Visions du Réel in 2024. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek hailed him as "one of the top directors in the world today.".
Jia's early films, a loose trilogy based in his home province of Shanxi, were made outside of China's state-run film bureaucracy, and therefore are considered "underground" films. Beginning in 2004, Jia's status in his own country rose when he was allowed to direct his fourth feature film, The World, with state approval. Jia's films have received critical praise and have been recognized internationally, notably winning the Venice Film Festival's top award Golden Lion for Still Life. He received the Leopard of Honour at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010, the Carrosse d'Or lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, and an honorary award at the Visions du Réel in 2024. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek hailed him as "one of the top directors in the world today.".
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Their works
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The Great Director
event2021 star_border 6
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The closing film for 2021's Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival.
Art College 1994
Act like Gu Yongqing (voice)
event2023 star_border 4.4
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In the 1990s, a group of students on the campus of the Chinese Southern Academy of Arts are pursuing their studies and preparing to face the world. China is opening up to the West and the students’ lives are a tangle of love stories and friendships, artistic research, ideals and ambitions brought about by new influences. Caught between tradition and modernity, they have to decide who they want to become.
Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang
Act like Self
event2014 star_border 6.9
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Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke returns to the shooting locations of his films, along with his actors, friends and close collaborators. Jia recalls the inspiration sources for his movies, such as Platform, Still Life and A Touch of Sin. The film is the memory of a filmmaker and of a country in convulsion, China, which reveals itself little by little.
The Continent
Act like Su Mi's Uncle
event2014 star_border 6.1
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Three men living in the Eastern most island of China go on a road trip to the Western most end of the country, and facing crises of love, friendship, and faith on their journey to the West.
Karmic Mahjong
Act like Mobster
event2006 star_border 5
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Chen Chuan (Francis Ng) is a simple man who seems to be cursed with bad luck all the time. Convinced by a blind fortune teller that he must eliminate the "villain" that is bringing him the ills, Chen vows to kill the person responsible for his misfortunes. But he soon has second thoughts when he suspect that the "villain" is none other than his own wife.
Boundless
Act like Self
event2013 star_border 7.5
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As Hong Kong's foremost filmmaker, Johnnie To himself becomes the protagonist of this painstaking documentary exploring him and his Boundless world of film. A film student from Beijing and avid Johnnie To fan, Ferris Lin boldly approached To with a proposal to document the master director for his graduation thesis. To agreed immediately and Lin's camera closely followed him for over two years, capturing the man behind the movies and the myths. The result is Boundless, a candid profile of one of Hong Kong's greatest directors and a heartfelt love letter to Hong Kong cinema.
Black Dog
Act like Uncle Yao
event2024 star_border 7.2
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On the edge of the Gobi desert in Northwest China, Lang returns to his hometown after being released from jail. While working for the local dog patrol team to clear the town of stray dogs before the Olympic Games, he strikes up an unlikely connection with a black dog. These two lonely souls embark on a journey together.
Flowers of Taipei: Taiwan New Cinema
Act like Self
event2014 star_border 7.1
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With Taiwan remaining in the grip of martial law in 1982, a group of filmmakers from that country set out to establish a cultural identity through cinema and to share it with the world. This engaging documentary looks at the movement's legacy.
About Cinema
Act like Self
event2015 star_border 8.3
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An abandoned tumbledown theater in the outback of Paraíba state is the initial setting of a film about cinema, which explores the testimonials of the novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna and other filmmakers such as Ruy Guerra, Julio Bressane, Ken Loach, Andrzej Wajda, Karim Ainouz, José Padilha, Hector Babenco, Vilmos Zsigmond, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Jia Zhangke. They all respond to two basic questions: why do they make movies and why do they serve the seventh art. The filmmakers share their thoughts about time, narrative, rhythm, light, movement, the meaning of tragedy, the audience‘s desires and the boundaries with other forms of art.
A Touch of Sin
Act like Distinguished Guest
event2013 star_border 7.2
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Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
Xiao Jia Going Home
Act like Himself
event2007 star_border 3
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Leading Chinese Sixth Generation filmmaker Jia Zhangke returns home to Fenyang in Shanxi province after winning the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival for Still Life (2006). The experiences of his childhood, the people he grew up with, and the changing landscape of his home town gave Jia the inspiration to make his first films. The documentary forms a poignant inquiry into the past of the director's life and Chinese society at the same time.
Everybody's Fine
Act like (cameo)
event2016 star_border 5.3
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When all four of his children cancel their yearly visits, a widower travels to the far corners of the country to see them and discovers the hidden sides of their lives.
Unknown Pleasures
Act like Man singing in street (uncredited)
event2002 star_border 6.3
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Two disaffected, unemployed Chinese youth drift through life on the streets of their industrial town, their paths crossing with that of a local young singer and dancer working for a liquor company as a spokesmodel.
Our Time: A Decade of Daring
event2015
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a documentary series created by Jia Zhangke, with 10 short films about 10 leading figures in various industries in China, exploring the stories of China's decade. Won the Gold Award at China Marketing Awards
Mostly Sunny
event2024
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Although Wu You (Huang Xiaoming) has reached an advanced age, his IQ and cognitive level still remain at the level of a child. As his name suggests, he is as carefree as a child and curious about the world. Wu You is single and lives with his optimistic mother, Shen Liping (Lu Xiaofen). He becomes a senior partner in a success organization called "Sunshine Club" when his mother falls seriously ill. While his brother Wu Di (Zu Feng), a doctor, tries his best to cure his mother, Wu You chooses a very different path to save her. He firmly believes that as long as you let the sun shine inside, there will always be a miracle in life ......
Made in China
Act like Self
event2005
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A documentary about the making of Jia Zhangke's film the World.
Overloaded Peking
Act like Himself
event2002
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A documentary about Peking in the dawn of the new Millenium. Contains interviews with Jia Zhangke and dj Gaohu
Pseudo Idealist
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Jia Zhangke is starring in his first lead role, appearing as an artist facing a midlife crisis in Cheng Er's Pseudo Idealist.
The Best is Yet to Come
Act like Coal Mine Owner
event2023 star_border 6.1
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In 2003, Han Dong, a teenager who dropped out of high school, arrives at Beijing with a dream of becoming a journalist.
Shiny Stars, Rusty Red
Act like Himself
event2003
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Meet Wang Yuelun, a young and ambitious Chinese who dreams of becoming a film director. Filmmaker Elisabeth O. Sjaastad follows an eventful year in his quest to fulfill his dream.
Visit
event2020 star_border 5.1
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The idea is to create a film at home, using the environment, the people or the animals in that space. The only outdoor areas that may be used are outdoor living spaces, such as the terrace, the garden, the balcony and the stairwell.
Citizen Kitano
Act like Self
event2020 star_border 7.5
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Takeshi Kitano is an international icon. We know the actor, the multi-award-winning filmmaker, but many ignore his double personality: the crazy TV star, the street kid from Tokyo close to the Yakuza, and the political satirist who blasted taboos!
Can we dream of a better guide to introduce us to the cultural history of Japan?
The Hedonists
event2016 star_border 7.4
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The closure of an unprofitable state-run coal mine in Shanxi, China forces three middle-aged men who worked there to search for employment elsewhere.
Keep Rolling
event2020 star_border 8
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One of Hong Kong's most influential filmmakers, Ann Hui, becomes a “star” for the first time in Man Lim-chung's directorial debut. A forerunner of the New Wave, Hui’s tumultuous, forty-year career is an unequivocal testimony to her unyielding dedication to filmmaking, and her expedition into the metamorphic city. This biopic probes into the acclaimed director’s idiosyncratic world, where we witness her rashness and goofiness, as well as her humanistic concerns for the everyday nobodies which make her films so moving.
My Camera Doesn’t Lie
Act like Jia Zhangke
event2003
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A film about Chinese underground filmmakers who were the first to express their truthful and realistic views on China from 1989 until today. It is also the first film to speak about the Chinese homosexual film scene. The documentary features Chinese intellectuals and directors such as Cui Zi’en, Jia Zhangke, Ju An Qi, Li Yu, Liu Bingjian, Liu Hao, Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhang Yuan.
Out of Order
Act like Guest in room 622
event2024 star_border 3
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When gold medal lawyer Hu Gongping was having a secret meeting with his lover She Xiaoman, a body suddenly fell from the sky in the room. Hu Gongping called for help from his assistant Zhu Shiqi, but he didn't want to panic and blurt out several lies, causing a series of chaos! With the emergence of various "family members" such as Xiong Dali, Lin Luanfeng, and Shi Shi, the situation continues to escalate. As the matter is about to be exposed, how will this hilarious "accident" end?
Xiao Shan Going Home
event1995 star_border 5.5
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Xiao Shan, a temporary worker at the Hongyuan Restaurant, has just been fired by his boss Zhao Guoqing. Deciding to leave Beijing and returns to his home in Anyang, he goes to see a series of people from his hometown who have also been living in Beijing-construction workers, train ticket scalpers, university students, attendant, prostitutes-but no one wants to go back with him. Dispirited and confused, he searches out one after another of his old friends who are still in Beijing. Finally he leaves his wild long hair, the symbol of his life in the city, at a roadside barber stand as his offering to Beijing.
Golden Horse Awards
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1962
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The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards (Chinese: 台北金馬影展; pinyin: Táiběi Jīnmǎ Yǐngzhǎn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-pak Kim-má iáⁿ-tián) is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is usually held in November or December in Taipei, although the event has also been held in other locations in Taiwan in recent times
Jia's Talk
Act like 自己 (8 ep.)
event2022
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This talk show was initiated by director Jia Zhangke. It opened an in-depth dialogue with 8 guests from all walks of life to discuss topics such as "the departure and return of hometown" and "the source of nutrition for creation". The resonance of the individual and the times.
Still Life
Director (1 ep.)
event2006 star_border 7.2
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A town in Fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes.
A Song for You
Producer (1 ep.)
event2020
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In A Song for You – a road movie and a music industry insider comedy, with lots of songs – young Ngawang leaves behind a nomadic existence on the Tibetan plateau for big city Lhasa nightclubs. His dream is to record an album and be heard around the country. Cutting an album costs money, which he doesn’t have. One day he meets a woman who looks just like his Loyiter, a talisman of the goddess of art and music. Impossible, says his father, as only the pure of heart meet her, only in their dreams. But, Ngawang perseveres. She takes him on a journey of discovery through life and love.
The World
Writer (1 ep.)
event2004 star_border 6.9
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At Beijing World Park, a bizarre cross-pollination of Las Vegas and Epcot Center where visitors can interact with famous international monuments without ever leaving the city’s suburbs, a security guard betrays his dancer girlfriend by pursuing another woman.
24 City
Director (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 7
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As a decades-old state-run aeronautics munitions factory in downtown Chengdu, China is being torn down for the construction of the titular luxury apartment complex, director Jia Zhangke interviews various people affiliated with it about their experiences.
Memoria
Co-Producer (1 ep.)
event2021 star_border 6
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One morning, Jessica Holland, a Scottish orchid farmer visiting her sister in Bogotá, is woken by a loud ‘bang’. This haunting sound dispels her sleep for days, calling into question her identity and guiding her from recording studios to secluded jungle villages in an attempt to find its source.
Peacock, Peacock
Director (1 ep.)
event2022
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Yi Yi, a white-collar worker in a lattice room, and Ah Juan, a female worker in a garment factory, are separated by a wall in a Dongguan factory. They do not know each other, and seem to have no relationship with each other's fate, but because of the appearance of a "peacock", seems to have intersected. The two girls' souls meet and make their own answers to life on their own way to chase their ideals. The story is adapted from the song "Peacock" by the band Frog Pond, paying tribute to every woman who also carries ideals in the midst of the ordinary.
Pickpocket
Writer (1 ep.)
event1997 star_border 7.3
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A small town pickpocket whose friends have moved on to higher trades finds himself bitter and unable to adapt.
Platform
Director (1 ep.)
event2001 star_border 7
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China’s rapid changes from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, as seen through the lives of four performers in a theater troupe.
Walking on the Wild Side
Producer (1 ep.)
event2006 star_border 6
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Han Jie’s feature debut draws on his own experiences growing up in a desolate mining district in northern China’s Shanxi province. A Chinese road movie, Walking on the Wild Side charts a young gang’s continuous flights from one kind of trouble to the next. Mirroring the stark and barren landscape, the film relays the grim story of these delinquents’ dreams of liberty and easy money. Played by nonprofessional actors who are real life troublemakers, the film offers a realism that is at once oppressive, cruel, and sympathetic.
I Wish I Knew
Director (1 ep.)
event2010 star_border 6.8
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Focuses on the people, their stories and architecture spanning from the mid-1800s, when Shanghai was opened as a trading port, to the present day.
Dong
Director (1 ep.)
event2006 star_border 5.8
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Jia Zhangke travels with painter Liu Xiaodong from China to Thailand as they as they meet everyday workers in the throes of social turmoil. Liu Xiaodong is well-known for his monumental canvases, particularly those inspired by China's Three Gorges Dam project. Jia Zhangke visits Liu on the banks of Fengjie, a city about to be swallowed up by the Yangtze River. The area is in the process of being "de-constructed" by armies of shirtless male workers who form the subject of Liu's paintings. Liu and Jia next travel to Bangkok, where Liu paints Thai sex workers languishing in brothels. The two sets of paintings are united in their subjects' shared sense of malaise in the face of the dehumanizing labor afforded them.
Useless
Director (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 6.4
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Observations of three varied corners of China’s garment industry: workers in a large-scale production line factory; a designer who rallies against the mass-machine-production of clothes and has created the eponymous hand-made collection called ‘Useless’ (Wuyong) for Paris Fashion Week; and finally the simple life of increasingly out-of-work tailors in small town Fengdang.
Close-Up
Director (1 ep.)
event2021
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In Close-Up, Jia explores the counterpart to the wide shot. Four elevated surveillance cameras scan a busy traffic intersection, capturing the steady stream of cars, bikes and pedestrians that cross it. Amid all that bustle and movement, a fifth camera with a long telephoto lens picks out one individual. A man with a bandaged hand. A wide shot changes into a close-up. Visitors have the freedom to choose their own context and focus. They can even tell the story of this man. HD video installation on 5 screens, colour, silent
Cry Me a River
Director (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 5.8
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An ancestral city; through its delicious botanical garden and its branched canals, we observe the clues and traces of its ancient culture. Two couples of men and women, former lovers, meet again one year later. The yesterday's breath of youth is still perceptible in their conversations. Is it still possible for us to love? Does youth really have an end? Like the networks linking the old city, what type of ecological existence does their culture require? Written by Venice Film Festival
In Public
Director (1 ep.)
event2001 star_border 6
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A fragmentary landscape for a little train station in a suburban area and a bus stop in a mining town. A lonely soldier in his heavy coat, a tired old man, a bubbly young lady, a punk, a woman waiting in the street... From all those different people in these unfamiliar places, we can feel the exhaustion of every life.
Life After Life
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2017 star_border 6.3
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A hare is let loose in the forest, a dog gives chase and the boy tears after them, his father in tentative pursuit. Minutes pass, the forest falls silent, and when the boy re-enters the frame, something has changed: he now speaks with the voice of his dead mother. Mingchung shows little surprise at Xiuying’s return, he even asks why she didn’t come earlier. She says she’ll leave again once she’s completed one simple task, to replant the tree that stands before their now abandoned home.
Out of Jungle
Director (1 ep.)
event2023 star_border 1
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From the music of Filipino composer Teresa Barrozo, Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke crafts a story that conveys the architectonics of modernization and its effect on those individuals and communities who are forced to navigate shifting landscapes and social norms and expectations. This short film is part of the 2x25 Project of Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Awards. The project commissioned 25 composers to compose a short piece of music, after which 25 filmmakers made short films that are the ultimate symbioses of music and cinematography, fitting completely within the DNA of the festival. The result: 25 exceptional films where the music inspired the form, narrative and texture.
The Condition of Dogs
Director (1 ep.)
event2001 star_border 5.8
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Shows a market where puppies are bought and sold. Several puppies are placed in a cloth bag, and they struggle to break free. One bites through the bag, pokes his head, and is observed in his triumph and then confusion.
Home
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2022
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The story mainly tells the story of Zhang Mingliang and Bai Jing, a pair of ordinary people born in the 1970s . After they got married in 1998, some things happened in their families for more than ten years. Also interspersed in the middle are some stories about his good friend Director Wang and an old man renting a house.
Our Ten Years
Director (1 ep.)
event2007 star_border 6
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Throughout ten years of a key era in Chinese and Hong Kong history, a girl becomes fixated on a fellow commuter who she observes regularly. While the two never speak to one another, the girl captures her appearance and life changes during the years through various means such as photos and drawings.
All Tomorrow's Parties
Associate Producer (1 ep.)
event2003 star_border 5.9
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In a future century, after the apocalypse, Gui Dao dynasty controls continental Asia. Zhuai and his younger brother Mian are captured and sent to "Prosperity Camp" for reeducation. They soon discover that the camp's aim is to brainwash people with propaganda. Five years later, there's a change in government and they are free again. Zhuai falls in love for the beautiful Xuelan and together they take her to an old industrial city, now deserted. They get themselves a place to live in an abandoned apartment and try to rediscover the little pleasures of life.
Yulu
Director (1 ep.)
event2011
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The film uses a documentary approach to tell the stories of 12 Chinese pioneers, chosen from the fields of business and the arts. The protagonists reflect upon their life journeys against the backdrop of modern China.
Remembrance
Director (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 8
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Jia Zhangke’s short for Modern Weekly’s special tenth anniversary issue.
Venice 70: Future Reloaded
Director (1 ep.)
event2013 star_border 5.1
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Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.
Mountains May Depart
Director (1 ep.)
event2015 star_border 6.9
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The life of Tao, and those close to her, is explored in three different time periods: 1999, 2014, and 2025.
K
Producer (1 ep.)
event2015 star_border 5.5
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A mongolian interpretation of Kafka's "The Castle".
The Bucket
Director (1 ep.)
event2019 star_border 7
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What gifts would your parents prepare when your Chinese New Year visit comes to an end? A film about the taste of home shot on iPhone XS.
Smog Journeys
Director (1 ep.)
event2015 star_border 5.8
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Jia Zhangke's short film for Greenpeace East Asia depicts the effects of air pollution in northeast China, a region frequently blanketed in dangerous levels of air pollution. 'Smog Journeys' traces two families from two different backgrounds; one a mining family in Hebei province, and the other a trendy middle class family in Beijing. Both face a similar fate. Air pollution is one of China's most pressing environmental and health issues. Greenpeace calls for a shift from coal to clean renewable energy, as well as short term measures that better safeguard people's health.
Tomorrow Will Be Fine
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2021 star_border 1.5
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A romantic comedy about an obscure screenwriter nearing her thirties and a frustrated musician who accidentally end up in a situation where they have to live together.
Mr. Tree
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2011 star_border 7
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Teased by hallucinations, Shu, a slacker living in a rural village, struggles with an ever-loosening grip on reality. Yet when one of his visions manifests as real, his fellow villagers come to regard him as a clairvoyant. Can Shu genuinely see into the future? Is he actually just a basket case? Or is he perhaps more lucid than he seems, and pulling a fast one on everyone?
3.11 A Sense of Home
Director (1 ep.)
event2011 star_border 6.5
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In memory of the Japanese earthquake on 3.11, each director presents a 3 minute and 11 second short film in tribute to those who were lost that day.
Stories on Human Rights
Director (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 2.7
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20 short films about human rights.
In the Qing Dynasty
Screenplay (1 ep.)
top_panel_open
Explores the turbulence amongst scholars, bandits and local officials following the abolition of the imperial examination system at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Lao Pan's Day and Night
Director (1 ep.)
event2014
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Three years ago, a Weibo posted by Pan Shiyi brought PM2.5 into the public eye.In the past three years, he has never stopped paying attention to air quality, and has integrated energy conservation and environmental protection, the Internet, and art into SOHO China's projects.The famous director Jia Zhangke created a micro-movie based on Pan Shiyi's Weibo-"Lao Pan's Day and Night".
Forgetting to Know You
Producer (1 ep.)
event2013 star_border 6
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Young Chinese parents Chen Xuesong and Cai Weihang find their marriage eroding as they deal with financial troubles, jealousy and constant bickering. When Weihang finds a photo of Xuesong and her ex-boyfriend, things spiral out of control.
Ash Is Purest White
Screenplay (1 ep.)
event2018 star_border 6.8
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Set in China's underworld, this tale of love and betrayal follows a dancer who fired a gun to protect her mobster boyfriend during a fight. On release from prison 5 years later, she sets out to find him.
Where Has Time Gone?
Director (1 ep.)
event2017 star_border 5.5
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A short film omnibus featuring the work of five directors representing five countries involved in the 2017 BRICS summit, an annual international relations conference held between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The collection—taking the concept of time as a unifying theme—depicts the economic, political, and social alienations and contradictions that create, compound, and structure issues as wide-ranging as poverty, class stratification, and homeless; familial distress; spousal abuse; and natural disaster.
Perfect Life
Co-Producer (1 ep.)
event2009
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Perfect Life, the second feature by Emily Tang (Tang Xiaobai), at first revolves around Li Yueying, a young woman in the cold north-east of China. In a world where no one is waiting for an untrained, inexperienced woman, she knows that in order to fulfil her dreams she will have to resort to her own stubbornness and selfishness. Her father deserted her mother and the money saved by the family is destined for her younger brother's studies. When she stops working for a shop making artificial limbs in order to take a job as a chambermaid, she attracts the attention of a mysterious criminal, Mongol. Then in the editing, the documentary story of Jenny from Hong Kong starts to emerge. She thought she had her life perfectly worked out, but when her marriage breaks down, she also finds herself in financial problems and has to fight for the custody of her children.
Neighbors
Producer (1 ep.)
event2019 star_border 4.5
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The 43rd edition screens Neighbors, with five segments about the theme “neighbors”: not only about physical proximity, but also about relationships. In Brazil, Olga is a 90-year-old black woman who lost her husband one year ago; her neighbors, who come from different parts of the world, interrupt her grief. In Russia, an employee tries so hard to please his boss that he becomes inconvenient. An Indian woman, with the help of her male friend, decides to learn how to drive, an uncommon practice for women in the country. In China, an elderly, owner of an old and decadent barbershop, argues with his son, who wants to change the business. In South Africa, a group of homeless fights for the right to housing.
Plastic City
Producer (1 ep.)
event2009 star_border 3.9
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Yuda, a Chinese immigrant, and his adopted son Kirin, who he saved being eaten by a tiger in the jungle, stand at the head of a massive pirated goods operation that brings in both money and influence. But their empire is crumbling, as corrupt politicians and rival gangs seek to end their power in the city. Yuda is soon got arrested and his dedicated son tries his best to save not just the family business, but his father's reputation.
Fidaï
Producer (1 ep.)
event2014
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A seventy-year-old veteran of the Algerian War of Independence speaks about his years of struggle as an underground soldier for the National Liberation Front.
White Building
Co-Producer (1 ep.)
event2021 star_border 6.3
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SAMNANG, 20, faces the demolition of his lifelong home in Phnom Penh and the pressures from family, friends, and neighbors which arise and intersect in this moment of sudden change.
Dead Pigs
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2018 star_border 6.9
top_panel_open
A pig farmer, a busboy, a salon owner, an expat architect and a jaded rich girl cross paths as thousands of dead pigs float down the Yangtze River toward Shanghai.
Still Born
Producer (1 ep.)
event2017
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Thousands of years in the future, a laborer whose job is to recover artifacts of the past tries to free herself from a dystopian caste system.
Number One
Supervising Producer (1 ep.)
event2019 star_border 5
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In the context of China's urbanization, a young man faces existential difficulties and decides to rewrite his life.
The Calming
Producer (1 ep.)
event2020 star_border 5.5
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A filmmaker is constantly on the move after recently ending a relationship. As she travels alone between Beijing, Nanjing, Hong Kong and Japan, she observes and engages with her ever-changing environs while seeking an inner calm.
Memories Look at Me
Producer (1 ep.)
event2012 star_border 7
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Fang comes back to her parents’ home in Nanjing, to spend some time with them. During her stay, her elder brother’s family comes for a family reunion, she receives a Yengisar knife as a gift and her sister-in-law tries to set her up on a blind date. Around her, time goes by, memories come back in the conversations, some she knows, some not. The present is mixed up with the past, and the steps towards the future may walk along the path of eternal loss.
One Day in Beijing
Director (1 ep.)
event1994
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A short documentary on tourists in Tiananmen Square.
Du Du
Director (1 ep.)
event1996
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Student film.
One Night on the Wharf
Producer (1 ep.)
event2017
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Han Dong adapts his own 1998 novel, about a group of young poets accidentally caught up in an inexplicable dispute with local hoodlums and security guards.
Caught by the Tides
Director (1 ep.)
event2024 star_border 6.8
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Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
Revive
Writer (1 ep.)
event2017
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Revive is one of five short films within the Jia Zhangke-produced omnibus film Where Has Time Gone? with contributions from each of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). In Jia’s segment, a Chinese couple in the ancient town of Pingyao attempts to breathe new life into their old love as they ponder having a second child. Pingyao, home to the film festival Jia has co-founded, is a highly picturesque UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Jia humorously plays with a very recent dilemma – the second child policy dates from only 2013 – in a setting itself forcibly revived from history.
Black Breakfast
Director (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 5.5
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Short-movie from Stories on Human Rights, 2008.
Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
Director (1 ep.)
event2021 star_border 7
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Filmmaker Jia Zhangke chronicles his local literature festival in Shanxi, China which includes a multi-generational roster of the country's most esteemed writers.
Tracing Her Shadow
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2021 star_border 6.8
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An old Chinese woman visits Japan to find her missing daughter whom she adopted in post-WWII China. Her granddaughter and a retired Japanese policeman join her search.
Heaven and Hell
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
new_releases Release: April 01, 2025
The movie tells the story of a restaurant owner (played by Duan Yihong) who's chased after the murderer of his son for seven years. On the way, he met a young man (played by Shi Pengyuan) with a complicated background. Amidst suspicion and temptation, the relationship between the two began moving in an unexpected direction.
A River Without Tears
Executive Producer (1 ep.)
event2024
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Hu Dengjie travels thousands of miles in search of his daughter's best friend, Ji Hong, to uncover the truth about his daughter's death. Along the way, he becomes caught up in a secret deal at the border.
Wheat Harvest
Director (1 ep.)
event2024
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What is your sense of homesickness? Is it the food of my hometown, the playmates of my childhood, or the endless wheat field at the entrance of the village? The "Kelin AI Director Co-creation Plan" has been launched, and the film "Wheat Harvest" directed by Jia Zhangke has officially been released! Let's see the wisdom and thinking of AI in the future world in the short film.
Untitled Jia Zhangke Film
Director (1 ep.)
new_releases Release: May 16, 2026
Jia Zhangke told Deadline that he was set to begin production on his next film in October or November 2024, which will be a “road, travelogue film” following a “female character who will travel from a place that is extremely cold, to a place that is extremely warm.”
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