presents a film by Jia Zhang-Ke Mandarin/China/2006/108mins DISTRIBUTION (Québec) PRESS Métropole Films Distribution Star PR 5266 boulevard St-Laurent Bonne Smith Montréal, Québec H2T 1S1 Tel: 416-488-4436 Tel: 514.223.5511, Fax: 514.227.1231 Fax: 416-488-8438 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] www.mongrelmedia.com High Resolution images can be found at <http://www.mongrelmedia.com/press.html> SYNOPSIS Fengjie’s old town is already under water, but its new neighborhood hasn’t been finished yet. There are things to salvage and there are things to leave behind… Han Sanming, a miner, travels to Fengjie to look for his ex-wife who he has not seen in 16 years. Seeing each other by the Yangtze River, they decide to remarry. Shen Hong, a nurse, travels to Fengjie to look for her husband who hasn’t come home in two years. They hug in front of the Three Gorges Dam. Despite a dance, they sadly call it quits and decide to divorce. Once I walked into someone’s room by accident and saw dust-covered articles on the desk. Suddenly it seemed the secrets of still life fell upon me. The old furniture, the stationery on the desk, the bottles on the windowsills and the decorations on the walls all took on an air of poetic sorrow. Still life represents DIRECTOR’S a reality that has been overlooked by us. Although time has left deep marks on it, it still remains silent and holds the secrets of life. STATEMENT STILL LIFE was shot in the old town of Fengjie. Great changes have come to this place due to the construction of the Three Gorges hydro project: countless families who lived there for many generations had to relocate to other cities. Fengjie’s old town, which has a 2000-year history, was torn down and submerged forever. I entered this condemned city with my camera and I witnessed demolitions and explosions. In the roaring noise and fluttering dust, I gradually felt that life really could blossom in brilliant colors even in a place with such desperation. 0 JIA ZHANG-KE YU LIKWAI Director Director of Photography Jia Zhang-Ke was born in 1970 in Fanyang, Shanxi Province of China. He was graduated from Beijing Film Academy and made his first feature Born in 1966 in Hong Kong, Yu Likwai graduated from INSAS (Institut National Superieur des Arts de Spectacle, Belgium) in 1994, majoring in film XIAO WU in 1998. He is now settled in Beijing and actively involved in independent filmmaking over China. cinematography. He made his directional debut in 1996. He is now actively involved in productions both in Hong Kong and mainland China. Filmography : Filmography – Cinematographer 2006 SANXIA HAOREN (STILL LIFE) 108mins, Venice, GOLDEN LION 2004 SANXIA HAOREN (STILL LIFE) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2004 SHIJIE (THE WORLD) 105mins, Competition, Venice 2001 REN XIAO YAO (UNKONWN PLEASURES) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2002 REN XIAO YAO (UNKONWN PLEASURES) 113mins, Competition, Cannes 2000 ZHANTAI (PLATFORM) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2001 IN PUBLIC 31 mins (documentary) 2000 IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2nd Unit Cinematographer) by Wong Kar Wai 2000 ZHANTAI (PLATFORM) 193mins/154mins, Competition, Venice 1998 ORDINARY HEROES by Ann Hui 1998 XIAO WU 107mins Forum, Berlin Wolfgang Staudte Award, NETPAC Prize 1997 XIAO WU by Jia Zhang-Ke Filmography – Director 2003 ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES, Official Selection - Un Certain Regard, Cannes 1999 LOVE WILL TEAR US APART, Competition, Cannes 1996 NEON GODDESSES, 16mm (Documentary) 2 3 THE CAST ZHAO TAO (as Shen Hong) HAN SANMING (as Sanming) Zhao Tao graduated from the Folk Dance Department of Beijing Institute of Dance in 1998. Born in Fenyang of Shanxi Province in 1971. He was born in Fenyang, a small county city of Her beautiful stature and techniques had granted her numerous awards. After graduation, she Shanxi Province of China. He is a mining worker in the local coal mine. Starting from 2000, he became the dance instructor in Normal University of Shanxi. Her acting talent was discovered become one of the important figure in Jia Zhang-Ke’s films. by Jia Zhang-Ke in 1999 during his scouting for cast in her classroom. In 2003, she further her studies in Master of Dance Education at the Beijing Institute of Dance. Filmography: Filmography: 2004 SHIJIE (THE WORLD) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2001 REN XIAO YAO (UNKNOWN PLEASURES) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2004 SHIJIE (THE WORLD) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2000 ZHANTAI (PLATFORM) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2001 REN XIAO YAO (UNKNOWN PLEASURES) by Jia Zhang-Ke 2000 ZHANTAI (PLATFORM) by Jia Zhang-Ke Screenplay/Director JIA ZHANG-KE Associate Screenwriter SUN JIANMIN, GUAN NA Artistic Consultant LIN XUDONG THE CREW Director of Photography YU LIKWAI Art Directors LIANG JINDONG, LIU QIANG Music Composer LIM GIONG Editor KHUNG JINLEI Production Director WANG YU Producers XU PENGLE, WANG TIANYUN, ZHU JIONG Executive Producers CHOW KEUNG, DAN BO, REN ZHONGLUN THE THREE GORGES HYDRO PROJECT The Yangtze River is the longest river of Asia, stretching 6,300 km (3,900 miles) in length from East to West across China. The river passes through the Yangtze Gorges. More than 1,683,500 sq km of territory is drained by the Yangtze and its branches. During periods of heavy rains, floods caused by the river occasionally have caused destruct of life and property. Three Gorges Hydro project on the Yangtze River was first conceived by the Chinese leader Mr. Sun Yat-Sen. He ordered engineering prospects at the beginning of the 20th century. Soon after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Tzedong proposed the Three Gorges Project again and did surveys in the Three Gorges area in person. The prospect, design and argumentation of the Project took about 4 decades to be completed. In 1994, the construction began officially. Scheduled for completion in 2009, the dam will measure about 180 m (about 600 ft) high and about 2.5 km (about 1.5 mi) wide. It is expected to help control the flooding of the Yangtze River valley; in addition, river flows will make the Three Gorges complex the largest electricity-generating facility in the world. A lake about 650 km (about 400 mi) long will form behind the dam, forcing the relocation of more than 1 million people and permanently flooding many historical sites. PRODUCER SALES XSTREAM PICTURES MEMENTO FILMS INTERNATIONAL Xstream Pictures was created by Jia Zhang-Ke, Chow Keung and Yu Likwai in 2003. It has Memento Films International (MFI) is an International Sales film company launched in Cannes last offices both in Hong Kong and Beijing. It’s aim is to explore and to promote talented Chinese year designated in tracking high-quality foreign films to promote and distribute them. Attending directors. The first production of Xstream Pictures was the film of Jia Zhangke, THE WORLD, major industry events (Cannes, Berlin, Tokyo FF, Hong Kong Filmart, Venise, Toronto, AFM, Pusan), a co-production with Office Kitano, Celluloid Dreams and Shanghai Film Studio. Its second our ambition is to nurture and to consolidate talents around the world, with an award winning, production is WALKING ON THE WILD SIDE, a co-production with Les Petites Lumières, directed by original and innovative line-up. We want to find appropriate solutions in regards to give the best first time director Han Jie. The film won the Tiger Award (Best Film) in Rotterdam International of ourselves to the films and to establish a long-time synergised relationships with worldwide Film Festival 2006. partners. 20 2 Memento Films International’s line-up : 2006 STILL LIFE by Jia Zhang-Ke Venice / GOLDEN LION China, 500 000 euros 2006 AURORE by Nils Tavernier Competition Moscow France, 5.3 million euros with Carole Bouquet, François Berléand 2006 EL VIOLIN by Francisco Vargas Official Selection Un Certain Regard, Cannes 06 BEST ACTOR PRIZE Mexico, 800 000 euros 2005 KILOMETRE ZERO by Hiner Saleem, Competition Cannes France/Kurdish Irak, 1 million euros MFI has a created a label called ARTSCOPE aiming to (re)establish a full status of work of ART to selected masterpieces. With ARTSCOPE we develop event screenings in relation with non commercial circuits and places of culture (museums, houses of photography, galleries). Our titles. 2006 DONG by Jia Zhang-Ke Horizontes Venice 2006 JUVENTUDE EM MARCHA by Pedro Costa Competition Cannes 22 23 2 2 .