Jia Zhangke (3rd from left) competes for the fourth time for the prestigious Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. (Photo : www.news.cn)
Chinese director Jia Zhangke once again exhibits his cinematography skills as his most recent film "Mountains May Depart" was screened at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival and vies for the prestigious Palme d'Or.
In a list provided by the festival organizers, Jia's film is competing with 19 other movie directors from France, Mexico, United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Greece, Netherlands, Hungary and Denmark.
Michel Franco's "Chronic," Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Yorgos Lanthimos" and "The Sea of Trees" by Gus Van Sant were among the listed nominees in the festival.
According to Jia, "Mountains May Depart" or "Shan He Gu Ren" is a story about human affections and how three time frames--1999, 2014 and 2025--can affect people's ways of living.
The movie aims to "show what kind of new understanding people have of affections."
"In the past two or three years, I have always wanted to make a film about affections. I have some new understandings of affections, so I want to show them. Besides, the changes in the society are also changing how people express their affections," Jia explained when asked why he wanted to make the film.
The Palme d'Or or the Golden Palm is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, and this year is Jia's fourth time to compete for the prestigious award.
His feature film "A Touch of Sin" or "Tian Zhu Ding" won as the Best Screenplay in 2013 at the same festival. He also became one of the juries in 2014.
Cannes Film Festival showcases new films in different genres from around the world. It premiered in 1946 and awards eight prizes for the main competition and 12 other special prizes.
This year's 68th annual celebration will run from May 13-24 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congres in Cannes, France.
