JMSC Documentaries in Film Festival

The Film and Television Institute of India has picked two short documentary films made by JMSC students for a film festival.

The FTII is celebrating its golden jubilee and is hosting an International Students’ Film Festival from 24 September to 28 September 2010 to mark the occasion.

The films chosen are Dai Pai Dong by Monami Yui, Tem Hansen, Ma Jinxin Yolanda and Deirdre Wang Morris, all MJs who graduated in 2010, and Farewell, Ngau Tau Kok by Derek Yiu, Hongliang Li, Xiaosu Yu and Lu Lu, all MJs from 2009.

The Festival will screen more than 40 films from 22 countries from all the continents. Other institutions taking part include the Beijing Film Academy, China; Royal College of Art, UK; HF University of Film and Television, Munich; Chapman School of Film and Video, Ngee-Ann, Polytechnic, Singapore; Griffith University, Australia; Tisch School of Art, New York University; NUCT, Italy; ECAM, Spain; EICTV, Cuba; HFF Konard Wolff, Germany; Film Music, The University of Melbourne; Le Femis, France; VGIK, Russia; FAMU, USA; SRFTII, Whistling Woods and Prasad Film Academy, India.

Dai Pai Dong looks at the disappearing Hong Kong culture of small outdoor eateries. In the 1950s, the colonial government helped citizens start their own businesses and make a living on their own, issuing dai pai dong licenses for roadside food stalls. Now, dai pai dongs are being replaced by fast-food shops and restaurants. In 1960, Hong Kong had 6,000 dai pai dongs; today there are less than 30 and the government no longer issues new licenses. The documentary looks at the life of the owner of one such dai pai dong in central Hong Kong.

Farewell, Ngau Tau Kok examines the Ngau Tau Kok Public Estates that are being demolished now. The film looks at the community that has been there for more than 40 years and asks what the impact of moving this community will be.

Tem Hensen (MJ 2010), one of the makers of Dai Pai Dong, is going to the festival in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Nancy Tong, a documentary maker from New York and a Visiting Associate Professor at the JMSC, oversaw the making of both films for her Documentary Video Production class, which is available to Master of Journalism students.

“I am not surprised that JMSC students’ documentaries have been selected to be shown in an international film festival,” said Tong. “The quality of their work far exceeded my expectation in the quality and the diversity of the subject matter and style. With this international exposure, I hope the students will gain confidence and continue to make more films. Hong Kong needs committed and talented filmmakers making quality documentaries.”

Gayatri Chatterji, Professor of Film Direction at the FTII, is responsible for running the festival. “A festival makes film school students feel they are part of a global community,” she said. “National cinemas have always been influenced by films from other countries, other masters. Never is culture so international as it is here.”