03 Jun 2025
The 2025 Graduation Exhibition of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University’s Academy of Film and Creative Technology recently took place across the University’s South Campus and the XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Students from the MSc Cultural and Creative Industries programme and four undergraduate programmes—TV Production, Filmmaking, Digital Media Arts, and Arts, Technology and Entertainment with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism—presented a wide array of multi-format, cross-media projects spanning film, interactive experiences, AI-generated art and cultural installations. These works reflect the Academy’s leading position in digital creative education.
Alongside the exhibitions and screenings, opening and closing ceremonies and award presentations were held, with guests from both within and outside the university in attendance. External guests included experts in cultural and creative industries, art and design, media, publishing, legal services and community engagement. Engaging in meaningful exchanges with students and staff, they praised the originality and technological sophistication of the work and shared valuable insights on future talent development and innovation in the creative industries.
“The development of AI is shifting talent cultivation in universities from knowledge acquisition to capability building,” said Professor Qian Liu, Dean of the Academy of Film and Creative Technology.
He continued, “We are entering an era of human-machine co-creation. Whether generative or agent-based, AI will increasingly serve as a creative collaborator. Educators must prepare students to work with AI as a partner, not just a tool, to keep driving forward the evolution of the creative industry.”
Professor Qian Liu
Five disciplines, one vision: diverse creations illuminate the future
Across the five programmes, students demonstrated outstanding creativity and forward thinking—not only in their subject matter, but also in how they integrated technologies and mediums. Through deeply personal lenses, they responded to social issues, conveyed humanistic concern, and explored the tension between art, technology and emotion in hybrid creative environments.
Cultural and Creative Industries student Yumeng Wang presented Cultural Hamburger Shop, an immersive installation using the metaphor of fast food to explore the rapid production and surface-level consumption of culture.
“Visitors aren’t just viewing an exhibition—they’re stepping into a fast-food shop of culture and becoming its consumers,” she said.
Wang hopes her work will prompt audiences to reflect on the mechanics of cultural consumption.
Cultural Hamburger Shop
Filmmaking student Weiyu Zhang’s short film, 2012 The Day We Run Away, takes place in 2012 amid apocalyptic rumours, telling a story of two girls encountering the idea of death for the first time.
“It’s about childhood, about love, and about how we learn to face loss,” said Zhang.
Cinematographer Ganlin Yang used vintage lenses and nuanced colour grading to evoke the warmth of memory, while art director and editor Yunzi Lin worked alongside the production team to overcome location challenges and achieve a cohesive, emotionally resonant film.
The poster of 2012 The Day We Run Away
On-set filming of 2012 The Day We Run Away
TV Production student Yonghun Yoon from South Korea created China Diaries, a comedic series exploring the lives of foreigners living in China.
“I hope the show brings joy and makes those far from home feel seen and accompanied,” he shared.
Blending the visual aesthetics of East Asian variety shows with the narrative structure of Western reality TV, Yoon crafted a format both playful and culturally relatable.
The poster of China Diaries
Digital Media Arts students Yifan Ai and Zhehao Fang collaborated on The Digital Tourism of the Humble Administrator’s Garden, a 1:1 virtual reconstruction of the Suzhou heritage site. The project includes an AI tour guide, interactive ecological elements, and seasonal transitions.
“Through digital tools, we want people to experience the poetic beauty of Jiangnan gardens beyond physical limitations,” said Ai.
The Digital Tourism of the Humble Administrator’s Garden
Fellow student Lanyin Zhang’s Blooming reimagines Gelao ethnic embroidery using AI and AR technologies.
“Intangible cultural heritage isn’t static in a museum—it can grow through technological empowerment,” she said.
The work allows users to scan QR codes to uncover the symbolic meaning behind traditional patterns.
Blooming
Arts, Technology and Entertainment with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism student Bolin Li presented In Her Light, an interactive installation inspired by his mother’s journey through cancer treatment.
“I wanted the audience to feel the softness and complexity of the emotions behind illness,” he explained.
Using projections, sensors, sound and textile materials, he created a space that responds to presence, offering an embodied, empathetic encounter.
In Her Light
These projects are not only manifestations of students’ personal reflections and experiences but also a testament to the Academy’s problem-based and technology-driven pedagogical model. Together, they portray a vision of the future of creativity—one in which emerging voices are empowered to shape evolving media landscapes with authenticity and originality.
Building an ecosystem for future creators
At the exhibition, visiting guests offered high praise for the professionalism and inventiveness on display. Many highlighted how XJTLU students had already developed strong project management and cross-media communication skills—qualities increasingly vital to the creative industries’ demand for hybrid talent.
As generative AI continues to reshape the creative landscape, the Academy of Film and Creative Technology is building a forward-looking ecosystem for innovation. With open pedagogy, interdisciplinary practice and collaboration between industry and research, it is cultivating future creators who are fluent in both technology and imagination, redefining creativity at the intersection of education, culture and emerging tools.
By Wenzhen Li
Photos courtesy of AFCT
03 Jun 2025