HONG KONG, Oct. 11 -- Chinese director Jia Zhangke has defended the use of staged scenes in his award-winning documentary "Wu Yong," saying they are consistent with the reality in China he is trying to portray.

In a discussion forum after the Asian premiere of "Wu Yong" in Hong Kong late Wednesday, Jia acknowledged he staged some scenes featured in the film, which won the Orizzonti documentary prize at the recent Venice Film Festival.

In "Wu Yong," Jia compares the work of Chinese fashion designer Ma Ke, footage of the launch of her new line, and footage of neighborhood tailor shops and coal workers in his hometown Fenyang in northern Shanxi province.

The documentary features real interviews with Ma, which Jia said he didn't alter, but also staged scenes that involve Ma driving an SUV past an old man in Fenyang and youngsters waving their clothing while riding on motorbikes.

Jia said the scene involving the motorbikes fit his desire to portray the "rough, forward momentum" he sees in China.

He said he disagreed with documentary "fundamentalists" who believe that filmmakers must follow subjects for years and wait for action to happen.

"Reality doesn't exist in documentaries. A sense of reality does," Jia said.

Jia said he felt the wide gaps in lifestyle in China after editing the movie. In "Wu Yong," Jia shoots a gathering of Chinese fans of Louis Vuitton luxury bags and contrasts the footage with interviews with a Fenyang couple who work at a coal mine, in which Jia probes them about their views on fashion with little success.

Jia, known for his portrayal of China's working class, uses documentaries as inspiration for feature movies.

While shooting a documentary about painter Liu Xiaodong's portrait of Chinese demolition workers, Jia was inspired to shoot "Still Life," set against the imminent demolition of a small town to make way for the Three Gorges Dam project.

"Still Life" won Jia the top Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival last year.

The director's next project, called "24 City" in Chinese, revolves around three generations of female workers at a Chinese plane factory. He plans to shoot a documentary on the topic first, then make a feature movie.