Young film makers from 19 countries to tell Chinese stories

Huang Huilin, founder of Looking China and dean of the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture, speaks at the 2014 Looking China Golden Lenses award ceremony in Beijing on May 4, 2015. [Photo/Chinadaily.com.cn]

What does China look like through the eyes of young foreigners? Some 100 students from 19 countries are to visit cities including Beijing, Qingdao and Kaifeng to tell their own stories to the world through short documentary films.

The 2014 Looking China Golden Lenses award ceremony and 2015 Looking China Youth Film Project launch took place in Beijing on Monday.

The Youth Film Project is a cultural exchange program organized by the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture (AICCC). Huang Huilin, founder of Looking China and dean of AICCC, said the 100 students will be split into 10 teams to visit 10 cities.

With the theme "Individual, Family and Nation," they will each shoot a 10-minute film.

Jacopo Wassermann, a student from Portugal visiting China for the first time, will go to Qingdao. He said everything he knows about China has come from the Internet. He expects to experience everyday life in China and hopes to learn some Chinese during the process.

"I am going to film an apprentice cook. I want to present the theme 'Individual, Family and Nation' by depicting the cook, his family and Chinese food culture," said Wassermann.

Anke Van Lancker, cultural counselor at the Embassy of Belgium in China, said Looking China is a great cultural exchange program which will enable young film makers to learn from each other and observe the country from different cultural perspectives, which is beneficial to mutual understanding between China and the world.

She also said it would be challenging for participants to present an abstract theme by means of concrete things.