JMSC students take gold in documentary competition

A team of JMSC students and their teammate from Lingnan University have won the Gold Award in a documentary competition organised by Hong Kong Baptist University.

Aston Law (left), judge Jessey Tsang Tsui-Shan and Lee Mei Ting (right) at the presentation ceremony on 20 May

Maggie Tan, Poo Yee Kai and Aston Law of HKU and Lee Mei Ting of LU were presented with the award for the 2016 Organic Farmers Documentary Competition at a ceremony and screening event on 20 May.

Their film titled ‘Blessed’—about Lai Chi Wo, a village in the northeast of Hong Kong’s New Territories—was praised for its storytelling and technical proficiency.

Judges said that the team not only successfully told the story of the village and its history of what is known widely today as organic farming, but also managed to establish a connection with their subjects.

The competition was jointly organised by the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre and the Academy of Film in the School of Communication, both of HKBU, and the team won a camera and lens for their Gold Award.

Maggie Tan said that the topic of organic farming is one that permeates a lot of developed societies today: ‘It’s definitely a subject that’s worth discovering and pursuing as we move towards a future where food security is one of the most pressing issues,’ she said.

‘Ultimately we wanted to show people that organic farming is possible and that it is natural—that it is a way of life worth living.’

Poo Yee Kai said that he hoped the team’s project would help to raise awareness about Lai Chi Wo: ‘We hope to tell people that what is now commonly known as organic farming was a way of life in sync with nature for the community at Lai Chi Wo in the past.’

‘We hope more people will be aware of the place and visit it to experience its beauty for themselves, just as we did.’

Click here to watch the team’s winning film.