The screening on 17 March will be introduced by Chris Berry (KCL). In 4K Restoration.

As the first installment of Jia Zhangke’s acclaimed 'Hometown Trilogy' (alongside Platform and Unknown Pleasures), Xiao Wu represents a pivotal moment in the director’s early career, establishing his distinctive observational style. Shot on super 16mm film, the feature blends fiction with documentary sensibilities, capturing the rhythms of everyday life in a small Shanxi town with unflinching realism. Xiao Wu premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1998, and its international success helped Jia build connections with Japanese producers, paving the way for support on his subsequent films.

Set in Jia’s native Shanxi province, the film follows Xiao Wu, a small-time pickpocket whose life is upended when local authorities crack down on petty crime. As friends leave for the city and the town’s social fabric shifts, Xiao Wu struggles to navigate a world that is moving on without him. The film traces his quiet desperation, fleeting moments of hope, and the harsh realities of life on the margins, offering a poignant portrait of a generation caught between tradition and modernity.

Restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with MK2 and in collaboration with Jia Zhangke. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

Cast:
Wang Hongwei, Hao Hongjian, Zuo Baitao