A season of Chinese director Jia Zhangke’s films opens at The Garden Cinema in London, opening with Ash Is Purest White.
The season began on Sunday, 8th March, with an opening night spicy cocktail hour and screening of Ash is Purest White (2018). It will continue until May.
On the opening night of the season, at The Garden Cinema’s atrium bar on the ground floor, spicy cocktails made with chilli sauce from LaLaTounge and Chinese spirit Baijiu from Cheng International helped bring the world of Jia Zhangke to life. LaLaTounge and Cheng International were also present, offering a tasting of their fiery chilli sauce and many unique Baijiu’s, respectively.
Across the season, all of the directors’ full-length films will be screened, including: Jia’s latest feature Caught by the Tides (2024); Xiao Shan Going Home (1995), which launched his career; and many more. Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang (2014), an essential documentary portrait directed by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles, will also be screened. In addition, a collection of some of Jia Zhangke’s many shorts will be screened, and a panel talk What is Sixth Generation Chinese Cinema? Exploring China’s sixth generation cinema, which Jia Zhangke is part of.
The full season is entitled Time Capsule: The Films of Jia Zhangke, representing how the films are a time capsule into a changing China.
Before every screening, there is a special introduction from the curator of the season, Millie Zhou, and an expert on Chinese cinema. For the opening night screening of Ash is Purest White (2018), academic Maurizio Marinelli gave an introduction.
Zhou also revealed that Jia Zhangke himself had visited the cinema recently on a visit to London.
Speaking to China Minutes, before the opening night, Zhou said: “I had the idea to do a Jia Zhangke retrospective at the beginning of last year because of his latest film Caught By the Tide, which is an epic feature that uses footage from over 23 years, including from his previous films and unused footage. I thought, he’s making an introspective film of his career, it’s the right time to revisit his works as a whole.”
As well as introductions, Zhou has also organised special Q&A sessions and even a karaoke session to go alongside a screening.
Unique to this retrospective, perhaps of any that has been done before for Jia Zhangke, every single one of his full-length films will be screened. For some of the films, the opportunity to see them in a cinema is very rare. The screening of Xiao Shan Going Home (1995) is perhaps a “once in a lifetime opportunity” according to Zhou.
The Garden Cinema was opened in March 2022, making it one of the newest independent cinemas in London. Designed with a wonderful Art Deco style, it has three screens and two bars. They regularly screen Chinese films and organise seasons of Chinese films, such as a previous retrospective on Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
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