Young film makers from 19 countries to tell Chinese stories

Anke Van Lancker, cultural counselor at the Embassy of Belgium in China,speaks at the 2014 Looking China Golden Lenses award ceremony in Beijing on May 4, 2015. [Photo/Chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2014 Looking China Golden Lenses award ceremony saw nine of 57 documentary films made last year collect prizes.

Some of the films focused on traditional culture, such as Chinese medicine, woodcut and Kunqu opera; some paid attention to people's everyday lives and social phenomena.

The Golden Lenses first prize winner Age, Height, Education featured unique Chinese-style "blind dates" in a Suzhou park where children's personal information is written on pieces of cardboard and parents talk to each other hoping to find the right match for their offspring.

AICCC dean Huang said three standards are followed in choosing foreign students and the awarding of prizes: unique cultural perspective, outstanding artistic expression and good Sino-foreign cooperative spirit.

Huang added that some foreign students shattered stereotypes about China by experiencing the country themselves. One, who watched kung fu films before visiting, wanted to shoot relevant topics. With the help of AICCC, he visited a school for the blind and took part in filming tai chi classes. "With days of close observation and shooting, he understood that the kung fu spirit is far beyond fighting and killing," Huang said.

Looking China has been held four times since 2011 and 100 short films produced with about a dozen winning awards in festivals at home and abroad.