10 Oct 2023
School Events
School of Film and TV Arts becomes Huihu Cultural Education Base
On September 23, Prof. Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai, Dean of SoFTA, was invited to participate in the First Traditional Culture Week of Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation Zone, titled "Continuation of Huihu Culture and Exciting Youth Science and Technology Innovation". The event was hosted by Yiyi Cao, our MSc Culture and Creative Industries Year 2 student. During the event, Dean Mai represented the AFCT/SoFTA at the awarding ceremony of the Huihu Cultural Education Base and participated in the round table discussion on the digital empowerment of traditional culture.
SoFTA Hosted A Student-Staff Meeting and Welcome Reception Event
On 20th September, SoFTA held two Student-Staff Meeting and Welcome Reception events for UG Year 2,3,4 and PG Year 2 students. During the meeting. Prof. Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai, Dean of SoFTA, introduced the Academy/ School structure, staff, programme, academic performance, industries partnership and students’ awards. Technical manager Qiang Wang shared the information about new labs, equipment and safety training. Meanwhile, SoFTA also invited colleagues from the University Career Centre to share their career development services for PG Year 2 students.
A team of three from Suzhou SBS reporter Shizhi Liang came to the school to shoot an exclusive interview with Professor Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai
On 14th September, Prof. Mai detailed introduced the school’s establishment background, school’s vision and mission, school’s development and future goals.
AFCT Hosted A New Staff Training Event
On 13th September, the two schools(SoFTA and SCT) under the Academy of Film and Creative Technology organized a training session for the new academic staff. At the session, the Associate Dean of AFCT introduced the structure of the academy, performance and probation and shared valuable information on the industries. Assessment design and preparation, moderation, e-bridge operations, SURF and teaching experiences were also introduced by senior staff from the two schools. To enhance the schools’ research performance, experts from the RMO were also invited to share current funding and application procedures.
AFCT Hosted MSc Cultural and Creative Industries New Master InductionDay Event
On 8th September, AFCT MSc Cultural and Creative Industries had a New Master Induction Day event, which was hosted by CCI programme director Dr. Yiqing Yang. During the event, Prof. Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai introduced the academy structure, programme, industries partnerships and branding events MEGA to new students. Afterwards, academic staff shared their research and practice interests, and three Year 2 CCI students shared their learning experiences. In addition, DA also introduced their team. Finally, the technical team took the new students on a tour of the labs and equipment to give them a more detailed understanding of AFCT.
Prof. Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai Hosted the Youth Forum at the China-ArabAnimation Industry Forum
The China-Arab Animation Industry Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the Jiangsu Provincial Government, and the Secretariat of the League of Arab States, was successfully held in Suzhou from August 30 to September 9.1. Dean of the School of Film and TV Arts, Associate Dean of the Academy of Film and Creative Technology, Professor Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai, was invited to host the youth forum 'Youth Cocreation: Stimulating New Energy in the Digital Culture Industry.' Through the keynote speech, the student guests who participated in the exchange expressed their opinions on the future development of the digital culture industry and the qualities they need to possess, put forward their thoughts, and looked forward to more opportunities for communication and cooperation between China and Arab countries, jointly stimulating new momentum and promoting the development of the digital culture industry.
SoFTA Staff Attended the 30th Beijing International Radio, Film, and Television Exhibition
In August, Cheng Fang, Yijun Guo, and the SoFTA technical team attended the 30th Beijing International Radio, Film, and Television Exhibition (BIRTV2023) held in Beijing. During the exhibition, the teachers examined the development and application of new technologies in the film and television industry, participated in multiple professional seminars, and had indepth exchanges with exhibiting manufacturers.
Prof. Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai and Dr. Yiqing Yang Attended International Meta Park Phase 1 Groundbreaking Ceremony
On 25th July, Professor Li-Chuan Evelyn Mai and Dr. Yiqing Yang were invited to attend International Meta Park Phase 1 Groundbreaking Ceremony. At the event, they shared and discussed the opportunities and challenges of the development of cultural and creative industries under the meta-universe, looking forward to and anticipating future cooperation opportunities.
SoFTA staff visited Zhouzhuang Digital Dream Factory and ExploredOpportunities for Future Industry Cooperation
On 30th June, SoFTA organized a field trip to Zhouzhuang Digital Dream Factory and explored opportunities for future industry cooperation. Guided by the staff there, SoFTA team visited their large-scale studio clusters and the backlot which is replicated on the model of "Qingming Riverside Drawing". The backlot is still under construction, and it is learnt that after its completion, it will carry out in-depth cooperation with Alibaba Entertainment and other platforms.
Research Achievements
Dr. Yang Li has published one research article on Quarterly Review of Film and Video
Dr. Yang Li has published one research article in this August, please see below: Yang Li (2023) Tracking on the “Edge” of Chinese Discourses: Drawing the Trajectories of Pema Tseden’s “Tibetan” Filmmaking in the PRC, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, DOI: 10.1080/10509208.2023.2243573. epub ahead of print.
Dr. Takao Terui has published his latest articles from field-top journals of cultural policy and creative industries studies
Dr. Takao Terui has published his latest articles from field-top journals of cultural policy and creative industries studies: the International Journal of Cultural Policy and the Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society. These papers discuss how public, business and civic sector actors interacted and cooperated in the history of British film policy.
Dr Yiqing Yang has published her latest article on Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies
Dr Yiqing Yang’s latest article on domesticity in women’s art is published on Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. This paper discusses British and Chinese women’s artworks with analysis that explores the “touchpoints” between them and challenges the current sociocultural binaries inherent in gender relations.
Dr Yiming Chen delivered a paper at an international leading conference IAMCR
Dr. Yiming Chen delivered a co-authored paper titled “Protect privacy for whom? Comparing privacy practice between platform policies and users under the first Personal Information Protection Law” at the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) in Lyon France, from 9th-13th July 2023.
Dr. Karolina Pawlik has published her article in the conference Un/Building the Future: The Country and The City in the Anthropocene
In June, Dr. Karolina Pawlik participated in the conference Un/Building the Future: The Country and The City in the Anthropocene, organized by the University of Warwick in UK. She presented a paper Dazzle and Utopia: Reconsidering the Relationship Between the Light, Technology and the Arrogant City, which was part of the panel “Technology & the Future City” and sparked a vivid discussion.
David Strang has published his article in the conference On Not Knowing: How Artists Teach
Paper presented at ‘On Not Knowing: How Artists Teach’ at Glasgow School of Art in collaboration with UNIARTS Helsinki. Presented paper ‘hotwire~: t(h)inkering assemblages’ in the ‘New Material Encounters: New Materials and New Materialism’ strand of the conference. Paper presented by David Strang and Andrew Prior.
Academic Activities
Dr. Karolina Pawlik attended the 16th EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations
In September Dr. Karolina Pawlik attended the 16th EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations (PEC), held in Germany at the University of Potsdam. She was one of the presenters in the “Global China and the Changing International Order” section, in the session “Domestic Discourse, Ideology, and Governance”.
Dr. Yiming Chen attended the Capcut Short-video Creation College- Enterprise Cooperation Workshop held by ByteDance
Dr. Yiming Chen was invited to attend the Capcut Short-video Creation College-Enterprise Cooperation Workshop held by ByteDance from 23rd to 25th August. The workshop aimed to explore innovative models of short-video teaching. During the meeting, Yiming Chen also especially promoted the AFCT Master program of Culture and Creative Industry with the organizer and explored future collaboration opportunities with ByteDance.
Dr. Chen Yiming published an academic interview in the core journal Journalism Reviewer
In August 2023, Dr. Yiming Chen co-published an academic interview entitled: “Exploring Digital Media Practice in the Discursive-Material Relationship: An Interview with Professor Nico Carpentier” in the CSSCI-indexed journal Journalism Reviewer. This article was also collected by the Information Center for Social Science of Renmin University of China reprinted in September.
Dr. Karolina Pawlik met Chinese calligraphic visual artist-Pan Jianfeng in Finland
In August, Dr. Karolina Pawlik met in Porvoo (Finland) with Pan Jianfeng - a calligraphic visual artist from China, currently based in Finland. This visit launched the scholarly-artistic collaboration between Karolina and Pan, which will be pursued as part of Karolina’s RDF project “Soft Brush, Creativity and Cross-Cultural Communication”.
David Strang held workshop in the conference NIME: New Interfaces for Music Expression in Moscow City
Workshop presented at conference – NIME: New Interfaces for Music Expression in Mexico City. The workshop explored the themes of the conference (Frugal Interfaces) to explore everyday objects and materials with light and vibration to generate sonic drone machines. The workshop was part of the continuing research project ‘Transmission+Interference’ run by David Strang and Vincent van Uffelen.
Dr. Stephen Andriano-Moore led a SURF project titled Images of China in 21st-Century Hollywood Science Fiction
Dr. Stephen Andriano-Moore led a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) titled Images of China in 21st-Century Hollywood Science Fiction. The students took a research training programme delivered by Dr. Andriano-Moore and then conducted independent research, returning as a group to contribute to the SURF poster. Students examined government policy and using their understandings of Chinese culture and society, they examined images of China both Hollywood and Chinese science fiction films. The findings were disseminated via the SURF poster. Students reported that the research project was a valuable experience and helped them understand how to do film studies research and will be helpful in designing their research projects for upcoming FYP dissertations.
Fang Liu Led a SURF project titled Research on the Application of the Metaverse in the Culture and Tourism Industry
This project uses Tiger Hill as a pilot experiment, conducting a survey to gauge public opinions on the cultural and tourism metaverse. Advanced tech like 3D scanning, intelligent surveying and 3D real-scene modeling crafts a 1:1 replica of Tiger Hill Pagoda, alongside digital characters inspired by Suzhou's culture. ROKOKO motion capture and ChatGPT enable interactive experiences with these characters, elevating the digital encounter of Tiger Hill. This amalgamation pioneers innovation, merging ChatGPT's intelligent characters with 3D real-scene modeling enhancing user engagement in the cultural and tourism metaverse.
Biwei Cong was invited by the CJ E&M to participate in a training program in South Korea
During her stay in Korea, she gained insights into the current status of the Korean film and TV industry and had the opportunity to engage in discussions with prominent figures in the industry, including the renowned Korean director Yoon Je-kyoon (known for works like "Sex Is Zero”, “Haeundae: The Deadly Tsunami” and "Ode to My Father"), the Chairman of the KOFIC-Korean Film Council, and the CJ E&M representative responsible for Chinese film projects. Additionally, she also visited CJ E&M's film studios, virtual production studio, and the VFX company Dexter Studios (known for their work on "Parasite"), from which she acquired valuable experience and knowledge.
Virtual reality project collaboration between TV Production Programme and Learning Mall
TV Production programme staff Dr. Stephen Andriano-Moore, Wai Kit Leong, and Yijun Guo and Learning Mall are venturing into the virtual reality project together to provide fascinating technology that allows users to immerse themselves in a dynamic and adaptive 3D world of 360 degrees that could take place within or beyond the classroom.
Students' Achievements & News
SoFTA graduates' productions obtained several international film festival awards
BA Filmmaking students won several prizes in international film festival, such as New York International Film Awards, Best Student Director; Madras Independent Film Festival, Best Short Film; Busan New Wave Short Film Festival, Best Editing; Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Most Unique Vision; MEGA International Creative Media Festival, Best Experimental Short; Madras Independent Film Festival, Best Cinematography, etc. MSc Cultural and Creative Industries students won MEGA Best Contribution Award.
SoFTA graduates gain several Master's offers from world-top universities
Graduates of the School of Film and Television Arts have gained offers for Master's Degrees from several top national and international universities, including University of Southern California, American Film Institute, New York University, Beijing Film Academy, University of Hong Kong, University College London, Loyola Marymount University, London College of Communications, University of Edinburgh, Goldsmiths University, University of the Arts London, Royal College of Art, Columbia University, University of Sheffield, University of Warwick, Carnegie Mellon University, etc.
MSc CCI students have interned at industry-leading companies
Our MSc CCI students have interned at industry-leading companies and prestigious programmes such as CCTV, National Cultural and Tourism Project- The Tourism Construction of Ming Dynasty Palace, SBS, Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre, Lilith Game, Red, IQIYI, POIZON Global, Ecovacs Robotics, OPPO, Shopee, etc.
Three students from MSc CCI joined the Oxford Summer Programme which was organized by our Partner Hertford College, University of Oxford
Nana Bao, Year 1 student of MSc Cultural and Creative Industries, spoke as a Master student representative at the XJTLU Opening Ceremony
Yiyi Cao, a student from Year 2 MSc CCI, hosted the First Traditional Culture Week of Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation Zone
TV Production programme’s TV Society community is running
It's with great excitement that we announce the official kickoff of TV Society, a vibrant community created and led by students from the TVP Programme. Our mission? To entertain, inform, and connect with you through various forms of creative content!
Level 1 Student Welcome Meeting
Under the organization of Development Advisor Xinyan Zhang, three undergraduate programmes, BA TV Production, BA Digital Media Arts and BA Filmmaking, held welcome meetings for their Level 1 students.
Upcoming Events
The Organization of The 4th MEGA International Creative Media Festival Started
The 4th MEGA International Creative Media Festival has been launched and is now calling for student Chairman and team leaders. It will be held from May 10 to 16, 2024, and we look forward to your participation.
School of Film and TV Arts will hold two School & Undergraduate Programmes Talk on Year 1 New Students Admission on 19th October from 17:00-19:00 at IA G28 and 26th October from 17:00-19:00 at AS Building
10 Oct 2023