‘The Loong’s Land – My China Story’: Short Video Competition

Introduction

Following the successful launch of the Eutopia Arthouse Film Festival (EAFF) in January 2024 at Queen’s University Belfast, the EAFF Committee, in partnership with The Language Centre at Queen’s, is now pleased to announce a video competition for UK university students. This competition invites students whohave travelled to China, the land of Loong’s (Chinese dragon) offspring, to submit short videos that showcase their life experiences in China. 

This competition intends to highlight how such intercultural experiences have impacted students, not only by improving their language skills but also by enriching their overall life experiences. Participants are encouraged to share their engagement with study or work-related programs, interactions with hosting faculty members, and involvement in local communities. The themes can cover any aspect of China, such as cultural heritage, tourism, economic development, daily life, fashion trends, cuisine, and more.

The submitted videos will be automatically entered into the Eutopia Arthouse Film Festival, with the potential to be showcased during the festival as part of the annual Chinese New Year celebration programme hosted by Queen’s University Belfast. In addition, the EAFF Committee will assist in submitting videos to an international short video competition sponsored by China International Communications Group (CICG), which encourages international content creators to share their unique perspectives on Chinese stories globally.

Timeline

• Preparation and submission: 1^st August to 2^nd October 2024

• Review and notification: October to December 2024

• Announcement and awarding: January 2025

Awards

• Outstanding Award – 10 winners per section, 50 in total. The list of these 50 works will make nominations for all the following awards.

• Best Video – 10 winners per section, 50 in total. The list of these 50 works will make nominations for all the following awards.

• Best Foreign Language Video – Videos in different languages (e.g. English, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic) selected from the 50 outstanding works.

• Best Single Awards – Includes Best Video Host, Best Videography, Best Video Series, and Best International Communication selected from the 50 outstanding works.

• The Best Story – One winner selected from the 50 outstanding works.

• Outstanding Organisation – For participating organisations and institutions.

Requirements

1. Eligibility:

1.1 Entries must include at least one non-Chinese national in any position, such as host, protagonist or interviewee, director, designer, cameraman, or producer.

1.2 The content must relate to intercultural communication between China and other countries at an individual or collective level. All the works should follow basic international communication in contents and narration.

2. Institutions, studios or individuals can participate. Each institution may submit up to 20 videos and each individual can submit up to 5. For the video series, choose 3 episodes to submit. Each video can only compete in one section. 

3. There are no genre restrictions. Accepted formats include interviews, talk shows, documentaries, vlogs, animations, microfilms, and short dramas. Each video should be within 10 minutes.

4. There are no language restrictions. Subtitles in both Chinese and English are required; videos without these subtitles may be disqualified.

5. All videos should be positive and must not contain pornography, violence, racial discrimination, etc. Such content will be disqualified. 

6. The resolution of the works should be 1920*1080 or higher. Acceptable formats include MPG, MPEG, AVI, MOV, WMV, and MP4.

Rights and Benefits for Participants

• Shortlisted participants will receive relevant awards and certificates.

• Each awarded team representative will be invited to attend the online award ceremony, with details to be announced later.

• Award-winning videos may gain exposure on social media during the celebration.

• Awarded videos will be showcased in screenings and exhibitions organized by the committee domestically and internationally.

Submission and Contact

Please complete the registration form below and send it along with the storage link to your work to the official email of the organising committee: eutopiafilmfest@outlook.com.

For any questions regarding this event, please email us at tyao03@qub.ac.uk.