I’m always amazed at how technology enables young students to do many things efficiently and quickly. Over a decade ago, when I took my college degree in broadcast communications, I and my teammates in our classes improvised a lot, and made use of available (old) media resources just to finish our documentary projects, TV performance recordings, and radio voice-overs.
Now, a lot of students have become very ingenious since they have smartphones and digital SLR cameras, as well as software to help them with their projects. I recently interviewed Beijing high schoolers who made awesome documentaries and thought-provoking public service ads (PSAs) and I was like, “Wow, these kids are so lucky!”
In Beijing, there are a lot of venues where students can express their visual creativity, like in-school and inter-school film festivals. We’ve written about what young filmmakers do behind the scenes before they join competitions, as well as covering recent film festivals in the city. There’s another one coming up, and this time it will be held at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB): the Identity Film Festival.
WAB just announced in their WeChat subscription account that the student hosts of the festival are now accepting submissions from middle and high school student filmmakers until May 6. “As the name suggests, films should challenge, celebrate, and explore the concept of ‘identity.’ It not only serves as a showcase of excellent student films but also a great chance for student filmmakers to share their experiences.” the organizers said.
According to the organizers, the festival takes place on May 18 at the Peace Park on the WAB Campus. Judges will review all of the submissions and announce finalists the week before the event. For more information about the festival, interested young filmmakers can visit iff.wab.edu or scan the QR code to submit.
Photos: Jakob Owens, Nakita Cheung via Unsplash; poster courtesy of WAB
