The Paper's reporter Chen Chen
The screening ceremony and closing ceremony of the 2021 "Look at China, Foreign Youth Film Project , Shanghai Tour" was held on the afternoon of May 29 at the Vancouver Film Academy in Shanghai.
The "Look at China• Foreign Youth Video Project" has been held for more than 10 sessions, aiming to show China's simplicity and prosperity, ancient and fashion through the unique perspective of foreign youth, so as to enhance the international influence of Chinese culture and strengthen cross-cultural communication, exchange and cooperation between Chinese and foreign youth. This year, eight young foreign directors from South Korea, Mexico, Ukraine, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Botswana and other countries completed eight wonderful documentary short films with the theme of "Family, Homeland, Home country" and one-on-one assistance from Chinese volunteers.
The scene of the event
"To see China, you have to look at Shanghai, because Shanghai is one of the symbols of China." Gao Feng, Distinguished Professor of Beijing Normal University and Executive Dean of the Institute of Chinese Culture and International Communication, said at the closing ceremony.
The 8 films participating in the exhibition are: "Love Shanghai", "Fish in the River", "China's Security - Guardian of the Homeland", "The Man in a Boat", "Song of New China", "Baby in the Next Generation", "Flowers on the Sea", "I Want to Have a Home", showing many themes with Shanghai characteristics and the atmosphere of the times, such as caring for autistic children, Chinese qipao, generational baby, and the marriage and love needs of contemporary people. The focus and form of expression of the film are different, some have strong regional characteristics, and some have universal humanistic care.
Poster of "Falling in Love with Shanghai"
"Flowers on the Sea" and "Love Shanghai" focus on the Shanghai qipao and Shanghai ballads with very Shanghai characteristics respectively, showing the colorful charm of Shanghai from the dual perspectives of sight and hearing.
"China Security Guard - Guardian of the Homeland" adopts a very popular experiential reporting form, and the British director who has lived in China for five years incarnates as a Chinese security guard, personally experiences the life of a security guard, and the interesting expression triggers a burst of laughter from the audience.
Daniel is experiencing the life of a security guard
From the perspective of cultural differences, "Baby from Generation to Generation" enters a phenomenon that is common in Chinese families but not easy for foreigners to understand.
Poster of "Generations with Baby"
"I Want to Have a Home" and "Fish in the River", two films focus on blind dates and autistic children respectively, telling simple and moving stories with real and natural words, conveying the desire of each of us ordinary people for home.
"People in a Boat" records the traditional activity of the Dragon Boat Race, which condenses the blood and passion of a group of people in the new era. Seeing the dragon boat crew on the screen running together to the finish line, and hearing their uniform slogans echoing in their ears, the audience could not help but cheer up.
"Song of New China" allowed director Kristina Grigoryan to study China's history in depth and seriously in the process of making this film about China's national anthem. "I can now say with certainty that I have a deep understanding of the history of China in the 1930s," she said. ”
In the past period of time, foreign directors and Chinese producers and volunteers have paired up to search and feel all the way, not only for the dreams of every ordinary and kind ordinary person, but also deeply shocked by the national enthusiasm contained in it. Home is the smallest country, the country is tens of millions, the touching feelings of home and country in the short film not only triggered the creator's whimsical ideas, but also left an extremely deep impression on every audience present.
Jiang Weimin, executive director of the Vancouver Film Academy in Shanghai, watched one short film after another being "incubated" from scratch, she said, "In this year's event, foreign young directors and Chinese producers have explained and excavated the concept of 'home' yesterday, today and in the future through various ways from the inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside. This year's directors are very creative, and they have given these seemingly ordinary themes special imagination space with their whimsy. ”
Jiang Weimin, Executive Dean of Shanghai Vancouver Film Academy, Shanghai University
Odet Abadia, a foreign instructor and senior producer of the event, has participated in the "See China Shanghai Tour" for two consecutive years, and she believes that "in the process of creation, the real story may be very different from the original idea." But it doesn't matter, let life surprise you. The magic of looking at China is that it opens a window that we don't even know. ”
Editor-in-Charge: Zhang Zhe
Proofreader: Luan Meng