Chinese director Jia Zhang-Ke's Sanxia Haoren (Still Life) was screened at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday.

 

The film was a surprise addition to the list of 21 entries gunning for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Lead actress Zhao Tao has also been nominated for Best Actress.

 

Besides, Jia's another film Dong has also been included in Horizons session at the festival.

 

Still Life was shot in the old village of Fengjie, which has been destroyed by the building of China's Three Gorges Dam. It recounts the story of people who came back to Fengjie during the upheaval. A miner comes back to the village to look for his wife, and a nurse to seek her husband.

 

The organizers have added a last-minute "surprise film" to the official competition in recent festivals.

 

 

(CRI September 7, 2006)