Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke takes new approach with '24 City.'

CANNES, France -- By necessity, Jia Zhang-ke is a filmmaker who responds to current events with the instincts of a newshound. Not only is the 38-year-old director the most prominent Chinese filmmaker of his generation, he also has come to assume the role of witness and conscience in a society characterized by rapid modernization and a growing amnesia.

By Dennis Lim

May 19, 2008