Zhangke Jia

Born in 1970 in the county municipality of Fenyang, portrayed in his second feature film, Platform , JIA ZHANGKE was 14 years old when he first managed to get on a bike ride to witness the miracle of a railroad. Television wasn't part of his boyhood either. After studying in the Beijing Film Academy, Jia co-founded China's first independent film organization in 1995.

His first theatrical feature Xiao Wu (1997), a portrayal of drop-out teens shot in 16mm, won awards at many festivals. Platform was one of the most praised finds of Venice in 2000. Unknown Pleasures (2002) continued the gritty portrayals of youths in China's backcountry, and The World (2004), set in Beijing World Park, showed where the modern, ever more capitalist China was headed. Still Life (2006) followed people's lives affected by the huge dam project at Yangtze river.

Midnight Sun Film Festival