Jia Zhangke On Pingyao Film Festival’s Return; New International Film Fund & Upcoming Feature ‘We Shall Be All’
25.10.2023 - 11:23
/ deadline.com
Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke is relieved that the festival he founded in the ancient walled city of Pingyao in China’s Shanxi province is back on track after a tricky few years during the pandemic.
Now in its seventh edition, Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF) takes place in a purpose built festival centre, with five screening rooms, exhibition halls and other facilities, inside the stunning UNESCO world heritage site of Pingyao. Lin Xudong, a critic, academic and documentary filmmaker, is artistic director of the festival, with veteran festival director Marco Mueller as chief artistic consultant.
The festival managed to keep going through the pandemic era, last year shifting its dates from October to January, but the centre was often closed for months at a time due to China’s strict Covid regulations. “We had some difficult days – we had to shut down completely for 18 months in the middle of the pandemic but still had 35 members on staff,” says Jia, sitting down with Deadline at the end of the festival. “We made all efforts we could to survive during this period.”
This year he feels the festival has exceeded pre-pandemic levels in terms of the “participation and passion” of the Chinese audience and industry. Screenings were packed and at one point around 370,000 people were trying to buy tickets online.
However, the numbers of foreign directors and producers has still not fully recovered. “Our biggest obstacle was the lack of flights – there are still only a few each week from most destinations,” says Jia. “We’re hoping next year, flight schedules will be back to normal and we can welcome many more young foreign filmmakers here in Pingyao.”
PYIFF has two main competition sections for emerging filmmakers
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