Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue

Jia Zhang-ke's latest traces the history of contemporary China through the lives and writings of four of the country's prolific literary figures.

In May 2019, a large number of prominent Chinese writers and scholars gathered in a village in China's Shanxi Province -- which happens to be director Jia Zhang-ke's native province. Images from this literary event open Jia's latest work, an 18-chapter "symphony" that follows a quasi-musical structure classic Chinese novels have often used. The story is told through memories of the late writer-activist Ma Feng and the testimonies of three major writers who are active today: Jia Pingwa, who was born in the 1950s; Yu Hua, born in the 1960s; and Liang Hong, born in the '70s. As these writers recount their own lives and literary careers, Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue weaves a 70-year spiritual history of Chinese society.