Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke has announced that he is set to direct a film project, tentatively titled 24 City, in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province.

The project, which includes a feature film and documentary, will be jointly financed by Shanghai Film Group, Jia's Xstream Pictures and real estate developer China Resources Land (CR Land).

A co-production contract was signed in Chengdu City yesterday. The three investors will each contribute one third to the film's $2.6m (RMB20m) budget.

The project also marks Hong Kong-listed company CR Land's further involvement in film. The company previously sponsored the premiere of Zhang Yuan's Little Red Flowers and also sponsored a French film festival in Wuhan city.

The eighth film project from Jia, 24 City will be set in a now defunct factory - 42nd Factory of Chengdu City - which previously manufactured engines. The land of the site has been acquired by CR Land to develop 24 City, the largest apartment compound project in China.

The feature film 24 City will focus on three female workers of three distinct generations - 1960s, 1980s and the present day - each of whom were seen as the 'factory flower', the most attractive female worker in the factory in their time.

The script will be co-written by Jia and Chengdu-based female author and poet Zhai Yongming. Shooting will start in June and is scheduled to finish by the end of the year.

The documentary, which started shooting today (April 2), will record the demolition of the factory, the re-allocation of the residents and the building of 24 City in a four-year span, according to Jia.

Jia added that two of his highly-anticipated upcoming projects: Shuang Xiong Ji and The Age Of Tattoo will not start production until the end of the year. The Age Of Tattoo is now awaiting script approval from the Chinese censors, while Shuang Xiong Ji is scheduled to start shooting at the end of 2008.

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