Jia Zhangke is a renowned Chinese auteur known for the work "Mountains May Depart." (Photo : Reuters)
After nine years of absence from the Chinese domestic film market, Jia Zhangke has returned with his latest film, "Mountains May Depart," debuting at the end of October.
"I have always wanted to make a film about affection. I felt that I always owed audiences a film on the big screen," said Jia. "Many young people may see my works on the Internet, but I felt that was not enough. So we decided to release this film in China first."
On Sunday, Jia opened a press conference in Beijing by dancing with the leading cast members Zhao Tao, Zhang Yi and Dong Zijian.
According to Jia, dance does not only open the film but also plays a very important role.
"I love dancing. When I was in school, break dancing was very popular. My classmates and I formed a break dance group and danced in nearby disco venues. I was even called 'the prince of break dance' or 'the prince of disco' throughout my high school and university years," Jia said.
The start of the film is set in 1999, but it travels to 2014 and later 2025.
"Mountains May Depart" tells the story of three friends in three different time periods.
Jia said that the point of the film is to show how people's understanding of affection has changed.
"We started the story in 1999, because of the rapid progress of technology that took place at this time, as well as the fact that email became popular then. Changes in affection are also influenced by technology," said Jia.
The film was shown at Cannes and competed for the prestigious Palme d'Or. It did not win any awards but was well-received by audiences.
