China's leading indie director tackles pollution
- Text by D'Arcy Doran
- Photography by Greenpeace
In Jia Zhangke’s last feature film, A Touch of Sin, the director who spent his career defying China’s film censors, put a spotlight on the costs to society when those in charge are blinded by their pursuit of money — corruption, gun violence, factory worker suicides. And he did it with a style comparable to a Quentin Tarantino movie.
Now in Smog Stories, his latest short film, Jia sets his sights on an even bigger target: China’s worsening pollution problem. Exponential factory expansion and explosive growth in car ownership combined with lax environmental controls mean more than a quarter of a million people in some of China’s major cities could face premature death because of high levels of air pollution, according to projections by Peking University. Last month, Beijing’s mayor complained smog was making the capital unliveable.
Jia, who was born in a coal-mining town and whose father died of lung cancer, enlists his painter’s eye and his technique of blending documentary and feature filmmaking-style in this latest film for Greenpeace.
You might like
In photos: Black Texas life since emancipation
Kinship & Community — A new photobook and exhibition showcases the rich culture, history and community of African American folks in the Lone Star State, whose existence in the region predates colonial Britain.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Youthful joy & end-of-era poignancy at a London school prom
Leavers — For several years, Lewis Khan documented young people as they celebrated the last of their school days and the completion of their exams. The series is now collated in a new self-published photobook and short film.
Written by: Zoe Whitfield
Harry Gruyaert’s vintage, kaleidoscopic scenes of New York
A Sense of Place — For 50 years, the Belgian photographer and Magnum Photos member has been capturing NYC’s colourful chaos. A new photobook and exhibition showcase his unique, technicolour view of the city.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Inside Lower Duck Pond, the nicest town on the internet
/r/HaveWeMet — With a population of 2,500 and no fixed location, the subreddit is a space for roleplaying citizens to solve mysteries, host fictional events and ultimately connect. In an internet that’s often divided and toxic, Vicky Jessop hangs out in one of its most wholesome corners.
Written by: Vicky Jessop
A major Nan Goldin exhibition is coming to London
You Never Did Anything Wrong — Opening at the Hayward Gallery in November, the show will debut a new film from the artist and activist, alongside a slate of recent work.
Written by: Jack Dennison-Thompson
Tender portraits of women serving life sentences in America
Looking Inside — While working as a public defender attorney in New York State, Sara Bennett found dilapidated prisons and forgotten people. Her new photobook harnesses the power of images and shines a humanising light on those imprisoned for serious crimes and their reintegration into society, while asking questions of the USA’s incarceration system.
Written by: Miss Rosen
