editor's foreword: "looking china" international youth film project is co-organized by the academy for international communication of chinese culture (aiccc), beijing normal university and huilin foundation, which aims to showcase the contrasting simplicity and glamour, the antiquity and fashion of china through unique perspectives of young foreign film makers.
as of year 2016, 101 students from 25 countries were invited to participate in the project. they were stationed in 13 municipality, provinces and autonomous regions here in china. every filmmaker has worked out a 10-minute short film about chinese culture around the topic of “ethnic minority”.
from nov. 30, cntv panview is to post the selected and best films of this series. here is an honorable mention winner for today.
the film, ‘the ancient village,’ directed by yvette nikolov, a dutch-native student, highlights the li ethnic community and their efforts to boost tourism by showcasing special traditional performances and culture tours for chinese visitors.
nikolov starts the film in a traditional village on the island of hainan. it’s a congested place as throngs of tourists arrive to witness performances from the li ethnic community. nikolov expressed concerns that local villagers might not feel comfortable with so many visitors.
so, she followed one of the families for a few days and filmed their daily activities. the father was a dance performer, the mother served traditional teas and they had two young children together.
the family appeared to lead a stable life, enjoying a steady income and living in a nice home. the parents were eager for their children to get a good education.
at the conclusion, nikolov pointed out that despite drawbacks of commercialized tourism, the li ethnic people still maintained strong family values and they had a close-knit community.
( the opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of panview or cctv.com. )
