Jia Zhangke: A Guy from Fenyang

A real treat for anyone who loves the films of Jia Zhang-ke.

The Chinese sixth-generation director Jia Zhang-ke made his debut at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1998 with Xiao Wu. That same year, Walter Salles attended the festival with his second feature film, Central Station. There, Salles discovered Jia Zhang-ke’s first feature, and later Platform, released in 2000. This was followed by a series of films including Unknown Pleasures, The World, and Still Life.

Walter Salles was captivated by Jia Zhang-ke’s visionary talent and at one point declared him the most important filmmaker of our time. Zhang-ke has a unique ability to capture the complexity of his own culture, focusing on generations of ordinary people without power — people whose longings and anxieties we come to understand through his films.

In Walter Salles’ documentary, we follow Jia Zhang-ke back to familiar locations where some of the most iconic scenes from his films were shot. Jia reflects on his past, and we meet collaborators, friends, and family. He shares his thoughts on cinema and the world around him, while we are treated to clips from his rich filmography.

A real treat for anyone who loves the films of Jia Zhang-ke.

Lasse Skagen

Retrospective: Walter Salles

This film is part of a retrospective focusing on Brasil's great filmmaker, Walter Salles.