Jia’s early works, known as the Shanxi trilogy, including his first feature, Xiao Wu, (Pickpocket, 1997), marked him as a ground-breaking filmmaker, one who often casts non-actors for authenticity and whose exploration of identity and memory provides the basis for a reflection on the whole of society.
A prolific creator of both documentary and fiction films, he masterfully blurs the line between the two, notable in his critically acclaimed Still Life about people impacted by the Three Gorges Dam project. It won the Golden Lion at the 2006 Venice International Film Festival and Best Director at the Asian Film Awards. Three of his other award-winning films are: A Touch of Sin (2013), Mountains May Depart (2015) and Ash is Purest White (2018).
An experimental filmmaker with a minimalist aesthetic, Jia’s signature long takes produce an unrelenting gaze on his subjects, purposefully giving them space to define themselves. He also tells stories in a non-linear, sometimes fantastical way, endearing him to international arthouse audiences.
Jia directs, writes, produces and acts alongside running the Pingyao International Film Festival, which he founded in 2017 to bring a greater diversity of films to China. He also teaches film, an inspiring experience that led him to become involved in the Rolex mentoring programme in 2023–2024. To Jia, passing film knowledge to a younger generation is essential to maintain the vitality of cinema. He became a Rolex Testimonee in 2024.
