The screening on 10 April will feature a recorded introduction by the director Walter Salles.
Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang is a rare, feature-length documentary devoted to the Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles. Viewed today, it stands as an invaluable record of a filmmaker’s life, comparable to Olivier Assayas’ 1997 documentary on Hou Hsiao-hsien, one of Jia’s key inspirations.
Filmed entirely in China across locations central to Jia’s life and work, including his hometown Fenyang in Shanxi province and Beijing. The film features interviews conducted by Walter Salles and critic Jean-Michel Frodon, who also collaborated with Jia on the companion book The World of Jia Zhangke. Jia reflects on his past, his filmmaking philosophy, and his artistic development. Blending candid conversations with excerpts from his films, the documentary also brings together voices from his creative circle, including long-time collaborator Zhao Tao, who has appeared in all of Jia’s narrative features since Platform, alongside family, friends, and neighbors. The result is an affectionate and comprehensive portrait of an artist in motion, also originating a peculiar outlook on the role of cinema itself.
