Top Chinese director in deal with French arthouse cinema

Acclaimed Chinese film director Jia Zhangke said Monday he had struck a deal with French arthouse producers mk2 to distribute the "best of Asian cinema" worldwide.

Director Jia Zhangke (L) and cast member Zhao Tao pose during a photocall for the film "Mountains May Depart" in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on 20 May, 2015. Reuters/Regis Duvignau

As part of the deal, mk2, which runs a chain of arthouse cinemas in France and Spain, will also support Jia's Fabula Entertainment developing a network of similar theatres in China called Open Village.

Nathanael Karmitz, the chief executive of mk2, said the deal was the fruit of a long relationship with Jia which began when the company "started operating as the international sales agent for his films". The deal also includes an agreement to develop and produce virtual reality and augmented reality content in China.

Jia said mk2's experience in backing and distributing independent film internationally "will help us improve the quality of films and cinemas here in China, and thereby share the most creative films in the world with people in China."

Jia, a 46 year-old born in the province of Shanxi, is regarded one of China's leading filmmakers and won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice film festival for "Still Life" in 2006. Jia has twice been nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, winning the best screenplay award for "A Touch of Sin" in 2013. The Toronto festival last year renamed one of its sections “Platform” in honor of one of his first films. NPR critic John Powers once described him as perhaps "the most important filmmaker working in the world today."

- with AFP