Co-presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival.
As young filmmakers struggled to make their mark on China’s dysfunctional 1990s film industry, Jia Zhangke’s 16mm debut feature XIAO WU (1997) emerged like a shooting star from the independent scene, casting light on the country’s neglected interior and putting Jia’s obscure hometown of Fenyang on the cinematic map. The subsequent UNKNOWN PLEASURES (2002) and THE WORLD (2004) looked to the urban landscapes of Datong and Beijing and the Golden Lion-winning STILL LIFE (2006) to the upheavals wrought by the Three Gorges Dam. But the importance of home — and its changing significance in an era where rootedness is increasingly the exception rather than the rule — has never left Jia’s penetrating gaze. With these four early features, Jia charted a course of constant inquiry and exploration that culminated in 2024’s decades-spanning “self-retrospective” CAUGHT BY THE TIDES.
