Labeled a member of the Sixth Generation of directors, Jia Zhangke gained wide international acclaim even after his first full-length movie. "Xiao Wu," completed in 1997, was awarded at the 48th Berlin Film Festival. It is a reflection of the lives of youngsters in his hometown. "Cahier du Cinema," an influential French film magazine, remarked "Xiao Wu" as having rid the conventionality of traditional Chinese movies and heralded the movie as a symbol of the renaissance and energy of Chinese movies.

However, one feature of the Sixth Generation of directors is they live at a time when the Chinese movie industry is transitioning itself toward marketization. They have to take into consideration box office results while insisting on their own artistic propositions. Jia Zhangke's unique style of making films and his obsession with grassroots themes means sometimes he has to sacrifice the box office results. But the young director stubbornly insists his movies should deal with the real society of modern China and express his affection towards the bottom of the society.

He offered his definition of the Sixth Generation of directors.

"The works of Sixth-Generation directors are characteristic of observing society and the people from a personal angle, using our personal values and based on our personal memories. I think China needs this to record its development. This personal observation is equally valuable to art."

The country was overjoyed when Jia Zhangke brought back the Gold Lion. Even though "Still Life" has secured screening rights in 25 countries shortly after was shown at the Toronto International film festival, it remains to be seen how the domestic audience will favor this movie. Even though Jia Zhangke has long been widely recognized as a talented filmmaker, insiders worry his strong documentary style and lack of famous cast in the film may hinder the popularity of "Still Life" domestically.

Nonetheless, Jia Zhangke appeared very confident. He says he believes the Chinese audience will also love this movie once they watch it because it has lifelike scenes and depicts people and things familiar to them.

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