Jia Zhangke, Marco Mueller Launch Pingyao Film Festival
China’s leading auteur film director Jia Zhangke has teamed with former Venice festival head Marco Mueller to launch the Pingyao International Film Festival. To be held in Pingyao Ancient City, in China’s Shanxi Province, the first edition of the festival will run October 19-26, 2017. With the ambition of embracing dialog between non-Western and Western films, the festival will have a competitive section, named Crouching Tiger, focused on new directors. A sidebar on genre cinema will be named Hidden Dragon. The festival is co-founded by Jia Zhang-ke, with Wang Huaiyu, CEO Liang Jiayan and CCO Wan Jiahuan. Mueller, who has also had roles at the Locarno, Rotterdam, Rome, Pesaro, Beijing, Silk Road and Macao festivals, is set as artistic director. Backing comes from the Pingyao Film Festival Co. and with support from the Pingyao municipal government. Details were announced at an event Thursday in Beijing. In its first edition, the boutique festival is aiming to sho...