CHINESE director and screenwriter Jia Zhangke may be a well-known figure at top world film festivals such as France’s Cannes, but he is worshiped by Brazilian cinephiles as the most important living filmmaker today.

    The 44-year-old went to Brazil’s leading international film festival, the Sao Paulo Mostra, for the world premiere of the documentary “Jia Zhangke, The Man From Fenyang” and for the launch of the book “The World of Jia Zhangke” on Oct. 25.

    “This documentary was very important to me. It allowed me to understand who I am. For that reason, I am very grateful to Walter Salles,” Jia told the audience at the premiere.

    The documentary was directed by acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles, director of “Central Station” and “The Motorcycle Diaries.” He also edited the book written by Jean-Michel Frodon, a respected film critic.

    “Next time I think about quitting making movies, I know what I will do: I will watch this documentary again. This film made me understand that I will never be able to separate myself from cinema,” added Jia.

    Jia, the creator of the 2006 feature film “Still Life,” which won the coveted Golden Lion at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, was a guest at the festival seven years ago for a comprehensive retrospective of his work.

    He also told Xinhua about his movies and how they relate to China and the world, saying his works are about ordinary people and the contrasts that exist in changing societies, such as his own and Brazil’s.

    In his book on the director’s life, Frodon says Jia’s movies are a unique portrait of China’s rise to a superpower in the early 21st century.

    “China and Brazil, during the process of their social reforms, feature the new and the old, the poor and the rich. I fell in love with ordinary people, which is linked to my process of growing up and my memories,” he said.

    Jia’s films appear to be largely regional, but their themes are universal.

    “The subjects of all my films are people and their everyday hardships: the problems they are facing, how they grow up, their relationship to society and how they are influenced by it. For instance, ‘A Touch of Sin’ shows how human beings must constantly face violence, which happens not just in China, but everywhere,” said Jia.

    Despite being hailed as one of the most talented directors in the world, Jia said he doesn’t care too much about that and instead prefers to concentrate on his work at hand.

    More than pursuing a devoted audience or recognition, Jia said he sees his films as a means to search for the truth.

    “I only search for the truth, and the truth for me is aesthetics. I want to present the natural state of people and the environment,” he said.

    Jia has a lot of admirers in Brazil such as Salles and Frodon.

    To produce the documentary, both Salles and Frodon spent months with the director at the end of 2013 in Jia’s hometown of Fenyang, Shanxi Province, in Beijing and in other parts of China.

    The Brazilian director filmed Jia at his production company Xstream Pictures and on the set of some of his films, such as “Platform” (2000), “The World” (2004) and “A Touch of Sin” (2013).

    Salles and Frodon also recorded dozens of hours of interviews with the filmmaker for the book, which also includes essays by Frodon on Jia’s work and on Chinese cinema, among others.

    (Xinhua)