Source Programme of Events Autumn Winter 2019 The Source Arts Centre Programme Autumn Winter 201 | Seite 16

AUTUMN | WINTER 2019
The Colour of Money
Set in a changing China on the cusp of the millennium,
‘Ash is Purest White’ serves up an enigmatic feast
from Jia Zhangke, regarded as one of the finest film
directors working today.
Ever since his film ‘Platform’ (2000), Jia
Zhangke’s films have reflected the vast changes
that have taken place in The People’s Republic
of China since the end of the cultural revolution
and the death of Chairman Mao Zedong.
Economic changes, introduced by reformists led
by Deng Xiaoping, in 1978, known in the west as
the ‘opening of China’ developed the country as
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a huge trading market utilising a particular
combination of capitalist and socialist methods.
From 1978 until 2013, unprecedented growth
occurred, with the economy increasing by an
estimated 9% a year. Whilst controlling the
macro-economy, central party control over
micro-economic matters have been relaxed and
both have created a developing private sector, a
burgeoning middle class, a huge decrease in