UM holds EU short-film challenge

The winning team

Students from the University of Macau (UM) have participated in the first European Union (EU) Short-
Film Challenge, which took place last week where nine films, each under five minutes long, were screened for the competition. It was organized to challenge students from UM’s Department of Communication in the Faculty of Social Sciences to think critically and creatively about the relationships between Macau and the EU.
All of the short-films were produced by students enrolled on the Department of Communication’s Video Workshop Course. A variety of creative techniques were employed to explore the cultural and international relations between Macau and the EU.
Professor Benjamin Hodges, from the Department of Communication, said that the challenge is an annual workshop and this year they have chosen the EU as the theme. “Obviously, Macau has many connections to the EU, both historical and cultural. But [the challenge is] also future-oriented,” he said.
“Students in the course are fourth-year communication students of UM. They have experience making films. They really want to tell stories… I think they came to the theme and they understood it, some even on quite a personal level. A lot of them have dual citizenship and an experience of two cultures. Some even lived abroad in Europe,” he said. The professor also believes that the films made by his students fit in line with the trends in international production.
The winning short-film on Wednesday night was “The Star of the West”, produced by students Hu Fang Chen, Wang Yan Fei, Wu Hao I, Cheong Weng Hang, Ao Ieong Chi Kit, Poon Weng Kei, and Hun Tek Seng. One of the students from the winning team will go on a free study tour to Europe, to be funded by the European Union Academic Program in Macau (EUAP-M).
The director of “The Star of the West” thanked her production team and the leading actor and actress. She said that her team members created their story by gathering some myths and stories about Macau churches. JPL