Chengdu, a charming city that seamlessly blends modernity with history, and the latest fashions with the classics, has flourished for more than 2000 years, unchanging in name or location. Chengdu is a Chinese City of Gastronomy; it is also the site for Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games. In Chengdu, wonderful stories take place every day.
In 2020, the “Discussing Life’s Beauty together with Chengdu — A Companion of Mine·Micro-Film Festival” event was launched in Chengdu. The activity aimed to gather creative new works of film from students around the globe. We used hot topics like “Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games”, “Three Cities & Three Capitals”, “Park City”, “Business Environment”, and “Salute to Strivers” as themes for participants to create works around, inviting students at home and abroad to take part in a joint online film-making event that crossed the barriers of time and space to connect young students from all over the world. This joint activity aimed to convey the spirit of Chengdu, demonstrate the beautiful Chengdu life, and share and discuss Chengdu’s new era of vitality.
Students at home and abroad followed the activity with interest when it started in September. Hosts received more than 150 film submissions from all over the world within just one month. 30 different schools signed up to take part.
Later, online voting took place, followed by the micro-film festival screenings. On this global stage, netizens were able to enjoy the excellent works filmed by young students, and they supported their favorite works with enthusiasm. The top 60 pieces were released after a 7-day online vote. During this period, the total number of online visitors reached 200,000, and the vote came close to 140,000.
Taking the theme “A Companion of Mine” to heart, 60 students cooperated with each other in pairs to produce their submission. To make a new work through the combination of both their efforts, students tried various creative approaches and techniques according to the festival’s requirements. Some students used dubbing to connect two videos; some used subtitles to achieve transitions; others added extra and new takes; and some even collaborated on a new script together based on each of their original works. Through comprehensive coordination, students not only shared their techniques and understanding of art, but also struck up close friendships with one another, introducing each other to their respective cultures and hometowns.
After half a month’s revision, 30 such micro-films were successfully completed under professional supervision. Finally, the top 10 videos were released after careful assessment from an expert panel. This panel was composed of veteran directors, photographers and other industry experts.
The theme at the heart of this project was “Discussing Life’s Beauty together with Chengdu”. It strove to broaden young students’ understanding of Chengdu, share the spirit of this city and carry forward our culture. In all of the top 10 videos, amity and goodwill between people were amply demonstrated in the scripts; life in different cities was recorded; friendship was built upon a foundation of shared culture. In 2020, the “A Companion of Mine·Micro-Film Festival” top 10 video global screening was launched. Let’s take a look at these “Chengdu Stories” by enjoying these “Chengdu Blockbusters”!
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（YouTube Search “A Companion of Mine·Global Micro-Film Festival”2020, Top Ten Video”）
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Guardian Talks journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.