Chinese auteur Jia Zhang-Ke’s paean to leading actress Zhao Tao takes over 20 years of footage, seen and unseen, from his past films in this kaleidoscopic epic. Examining his past work and fusing it with a new story, Caught by the Tides is a celebration of the power of Jia’s cinematic vision.

Zhao Tao plays Qiaoqiao, a woman searching for her lost love, taking her on a journey not only across China but through time. From this story, director Jia has shot new footage, plumbed the depths of his own work with Zhao, and created a cinematic document of China’s past and present.