Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke (Chinese: 贾樟柯; pinyin: Jiǎ Zhāngkē, born 24 May 1970) is a Chinese-language 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 Zhangke | |
|---|---|
贾樟柯 | |
Jia in 2008 | |
| Born | 24 May 1970 |
| Citizenship | China |
| Education | Beijing Film Academy |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Notable work | A Touch of Sin Ash Is Purest White Still Life Mountains May Depart |
| Style |
|
| Movement | Sixth Generation |
| Spouses | Zhu Jiong
(m. 1999; div. 2006)Zhao Tao (m. 2012) |
| Awards | Venice Film Festival – Golden Lion 2006 Still Life Asian Film Awards – Best Director 2006 Still Life Asian Film Awards – Best Screenplay 2015 Mountains May Depart Golden Horse Awards – Best Original Screenplay 2015 Mountains May Depart |
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."