The screening will be followed by an online Q&A with the director Jia Zhangke, moderated by Tony Rayns, whose long-standing support of Jia Zhangke, from festival exposure to sustained critical advocacy and English subtitling, played a crucial role in bringing Jia’s work to international attention.

The Condition of Dogs (2001) 6’

It shows a market where puppies are bought and sold - several puppies are placed in a cloth bag, and they struggle to break free. One bites through the bag, pokes his head, and is observed in his triumph and then confusion.

In Public (2001) 32’

A fragmentary landscape for a little train station in a suburban area and a bus stop in a mining town. A lonely soldier in his heavy coat, a tired old man, a bubbly young lady, a punk, a woman waiting in the street… From all those different people in these unfamiliar places, we can feel the exhaustion of every life.

Our Ten Years (2007) 9’

Throughout ten years of a key era in Chinese and Hong Kong history, a girl (Zhao Tao) becomes fixated on a fellow commuter who she observes regularly. While the two never speak to one another, the girl captures her appearance and life changes during the years through various means such as photos and drawings.

Cry Me A River (2008) 20’

An ancestral city; through its delicious botanical garden and its branched canals, we observe the clues and traces of its ancient culture. Two couples of men and women, former lovers, meet again one year later. The yesterday’s breath of youth is still perceptible in their conversations. Is it still possible for us to love? Does youth really have an end? Like the networks linking the old city, what type of ecological existence does their culture require?

The Hedonists (2016) 25’

The closure of an unprofitable state-run coal mine in Shanxi, China forces three middle-aged men who worked there to search for employment elsewhere.

Visit (2020) 4’

The idea is to create a film at home, using the environment, the people or the animals in that space. The only outdoor areas that may be used are outdoor living spaces, such as the terrace, the garden, the balcony and the stairwell.

Wheat Harvest (2024) 5’

What is your sense of homesickness? Is it the food of my hometown, the playmates of my childhood, or the endless wheat field at the entrance of the village? “Wheat Harvest” directed by Jia Zhangke is part of the “Kelin AI Director Co-creation Plan”.