[2010.05.18] JIA ZHANGKE DISSECTS SHANGHAI AT CANNES

The Jia Zhangke directed new film I WISH I KNEW two days ago appeared at the 63rd Annual Cannes International Film Festival's Un Certain Regard segment and was the first Chinese documentary to participate in the event. This documentary was made for the Shanghai World Expo. The team spent seven months in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei and interviewed over 60 people of Shanghai origins in different age groups to display the history of Shanghai in the film.

Jia Zhangke after the premiere stated that during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, everyone can easily see Shanghai in its present and future but lacks understanding of Shanghai's past. Thus this time he decided to shoot Shanghai's history. Jia Zhangke said that I WISH I KNEW will hold its Mainland premiere in mid June at the Shanghai Film Festival before its national release. After mid July, the film will be screened continuously at a cinema in the World Expo district.

As for the currently popular 3D movies, Jia Zhangke said that this is a very popular production format now and viewers like it a lot. Yet he felt that this was neither film's normal state nor the general trend of film future development. He himself has not planned to make a 3D movie. Jia Zhangke also had the attention of the European film industry because in 2006 his STILL IFE won the Venice Film Festival Gold Lion prize; in 2008 his 24 CITY competed in the 61st Cannes Film Festival.