China’s Auter Zia Chanke is set to begin production of its next feature in December, marking the shift towards modern storytelling after a recent trilogy leading to decades of social change in China.
“My last three films have been tracked for a long time from the end of the last century to the present. In my next project, I’ll go to modern cinema.”
Social change has been central to most of his work, but Jia says his upcoming films will take a different approach. “The world is changing, and China is changing especially quickly. So, there is a message about change, but changes are not the focus of storytelling,” he explains.
Jia’s Distribution Company Unknown Pleasures Pictures has released two films in China so far. Paola Cortellesi’s Italian film “There’s Still Tomorrow” and Charlie Chaplin’s classic “Gold Rush.” Future slates include Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Clever Mendonmun Phillo’s “The Secret Agent,” Fujian’s “The Trial of Love,” Miyake Shaw’s “Two Seasons,” Two Strangers, and Andrea Segure’s “Great Ambition.”
“There is no barrier except that there is a need to oppose films leaked on the internet,” Jia cites online copyright infringement as its main challenge. “That’s a fatal blow to our release.”
His production company Wings International closed its funding last month, focusing on funding for non-Chinese films. “We’re good for operation,” Jia said, adding that several projects have been identified and finalized.
In Pingyao, Jia highlights what she considers as two important trends in Chinese cinema. The first is the rise of Chinese directors working overseas. He points to “Summer Jet Lag” by Yan Kunao, set in the US, and “On the Road” by Wei Dongchen, a film made in Japan by a Hong Kong director. The second trend he points out is that filmmakers enter cinemas from other areas. For example, “The Woman in the Eye” by former paraglider athlete Gu Ying, and “Happy Girls” by Meng Xing, whose background is in material science.
“These new works make it even more difficult to define what Chinese film is and what international film is,” says Jia.
As Pingyao celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, Jia emphasizes not becoming a “classic” institution, but maintaining a festival “always young, always unstable, sometimes a little temperamental.” He says the goal is not to become a “classic film festival,” but to stay young and adaptable.
“We don’t want to be old money,” he says. “We want to be flexible and agile.”
The festival introduces new sections of microdrama and short content, recognising its popularity in China. “Some people are seeing the rise of short-form series like a fantastical challenge to film,” says Zia. “We want to make sure that filmmakers can know what they really are because a lot of people are arguing without seeing it.”
Pingyao’s project market continues to support new talent through two tracks: developing scripts to films and adapting film literature. This year we introduced a venture capital connection for short film directors and linked them with major Chinese studio executives during pitch sessions.
Jia established the Pingyao International Film Festival in her hometown of Shanghai, choosing ancient cities over modern metropolitan cities like Beijing and Shanghai. “Unlike Beijing, Shanghai and other modern modern cities, Pingyao itself is an ancient city where ordinary people live,” he says.
The festival opened as a homage to Shanxi Cinema and was filmed in the state in honor of films by directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, and influenced Jia’s filmmaking journey.
