Jia backs young directors

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-12 11:22

Mainland director Jia Zhangke (pictured) will use all the 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) he earned at the just concluded Pusan International Film Festival to support young directors.

Han Jie, whose first film Walking on the Wild Side (Lai Xiaozi) was produced by Jia, will be the second beneficiary of the plan, next to South Korean director Baek Seung-hoon, who will direct a comedy named Flying Duck next year.

Han's project is a comedy called Hello, Mr Tree (Hello, Shu Xiansheng), which recounts the funny incidents that happen to Mr Tree, a rural young man desperate to find a wife. It will start filming in one week.

Jia will use the money not only to support art house flicks, for which he is known, but also commercial films and animated films.

He emphasizes the plan is about serious investment rather than a non-profit project, so he hopes the young directors earn money and provide quality. Wang Baoqiang, a former construction worker/extra actor and rising star now, will play Mr Tree.