Jia Zhangke, 38 - year - old, the Chinese new generation director, directed his first feature work in 1998, which entitled, "Pick Pocket", tells of the experience of a pickpocket in Jia's hometown Fenyang of North China's Shanxi Province and took the Orizzonti Doc Prize at Venice Film Festival in 2007. Besides, he won the best director prize for his film "Still Life" at the first Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong in 2007, which was shot in the old village of Fengjie.
The mayor of Deauville gave Jia the town's Urban Prize to honor his cultural contribution to the glamorous seaside resort. The film festival, which focuses exclusively on Asian cinema, has been held annually since 1999. This year's festival runs from March 12-16.
Jia Zhangke