CHANGING IDENTITY
Chinese director Jia Zhangke takes on new role for his Pingyao International Film Festival
From a regular attendee at film festivals to an organizer of one, 47-year-old Chinese auteur film director Jia Zhangke is looking to set up a platform for new filmmakers while introducing non-Hollywood film culture to a wider audience in China through his Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF).
Expanding horizons
The first PYIFF kicked off on Saturday in Pingyao county in Jinzhong, North China’s Shanxi Province, the home province of the Fenyang-born filmmaker and the place in which most of his films are set. Not a wellknown name to filmgoers outside the industry since he has seldom forayed into commercial productions, Jia also invited famed directors Feng Xiaogang and John Woo, and stars Fan Bingbing and Li Chen to help introduce the festival to a wider audience.
“I have wandered around various famous film festivals, from Venice to Cannes, from a contestant to a jury member... yet I had always been a guest. The Pingyao International Film Festival is the first time I get to play the host in my home,” Jia posted on his Sina Weibo account on Monday.
A Beijing Film Academy graduate, Jia began making a name for himself at the age of 27 with Xiao Wu, which was first awarded the NETPAC Award and the Wolfgang Staudte Award at the 1998 Berlin International Film Festival. Since then, Jia has been a frequent visitor to international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice and Locarno. In 2006, Jia’s feature Still
Life won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival. The next year, he began taking part as a jury member at such international film festivals.
At an event on Monday, Jia recalled that the first time he went to Berlin he was deeply impressed by the local drivers who he saw reading books on philosophy while waiting for customers. That made him realize what his countrymen needed wasn’t just content but also something that was more philosophical.
Watching hundreds of quality films from over the globe at the Venice film festival that he attended for the very first time also helped broaden his outlook on film.
“It was very different from the world I lived in... it expanded the dimensions of my film world,” Jia said.
Inspired by what he saw overseas, Jia has ensured that PYIFF also boasts a variety of films and filmmakers from around the globe.
At a media event on Sunday, Jia told the Global Times that the PYIFF organization committee consists of a global advisory board.
“We placed emphasis on regions outside central Europe and North America like Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe,” Jia explained.
“Because we noticed that in today’s world, films with the best innovative ideas and vitality come from these areas, which are also important for East-West cultural dialogues.”
Jia also admitted that one of the other factors behind the international nature of the board is the result of a lack of qualified organizers in China at the moment.
“We do lack experience in organizing and holding large-scale film festivals. We hope with an international advisory board in Pingyao, we can cultivate some homegrown curators.”
Examining the darkness
While many people are cheering on the blossoming film industry in China with its rapidly growing box-office numbers, Jia holds a more conservative opinion about the situation.
“Investment in the Chinese film industry is currently a very hot item... However, a lot of real problems tend to get ignored when an industry is prospering,” Jia wrote in a post on Sina Weibo.
“Artists cannot live in an empty space. I admire those who live for art and feel pain for those who die for art. I admire what Ang Lee once said, ‘Film is not something that brings people into darkness, it shows people the darkness, helps them examine the darkness and then brings them back to the world under the sun. You will then know how to face life,’” Jia noted.
“I also hope that young people who are struggling can find aid and kindness as they pursue their filmmaking dreams.”
As a filmmaker interested in exploring the “dark” sides of the society, Jia was not a favorite of Chinese authorities in his early years. However, he is now receiving support from the county, city and even provincial level government for PYIFF.
Having temporarily put aside his latest film project, Ash is Purest White, to organize the festival, Jia said that he will resume working on the film around the middle of November when the festival is over.