Director Jia Zhangke to attend LA's China Onscreen Biennial

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Chinese director Jia Zhangke will appear at the West Coast Premiere of his latest film “Ash is Purest White” at the fourth China Onscreen Biennial (COB) scheduled to be held in the United States from Oct. 19 to Dec. 2.

According to the COB's organizer, the celebrated Chinese director, who was selected as the Artist-in-Residence of the event, will take part in a series of in-depth public conversations in Los Angeles about his career during a special retrospective screening program.

Besides "Ash is Purest White" (2018), Jia's awarded films, including "Xiao Wu" (1997), "Platform" (2000), "The World" (2004), "Still Life" (2006), and "A Touch of Sin" (2013), will be shown at the Biennial.

Director Jia Zhangke and cast of "Ash is Purest White" pose for a photo at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival. /VCG Photo

The 48-year-old Jia is generally regarded as a leading figure of the "Sixth Generation" movement of Chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, Wang Quan'an and Zhang Yuan.

Jia's films have received critical praise and have been recognized internationally, notably winning the Venice Film Festival's top award Golden Lion for "Still Life" (2006).

The organization also announced Friday that "Baby" and its director Liu Jie, will be screened on the closing night of the Biennial's events in Los Angeles.

A poster for film "Ash is Purest White" by Jia Zhangke. /VCG Photo

Variety, an influential entertainment magazine, called the riveting drama, "Devastating yet brimming with tender compassion."

The film was executively produced by notable director Hou Hsiao-hsien and starring rising Chinese star Yang Mi.

Inaugurated in 2012 with founding sponsorship from the UCLA Confucius Institute, COB is a multi-city showcase of Chinese film and media arts for American audiences. The project aims to promote US-China cultural dialogue through the art of the moving image.

This year's COB will kick off in Los Angeles, then travel to Washington, DC, from Nov. 2 to 11 and wrap up on Dec. 2 in New York.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency