Accomplishments

Journalism students claim Grand Jury Prize at inter-collegiate documentary competition once again

Rachel Lai and Yau Wing-yan (Broadcast Journalism, Year 3) won the Grand Jury Prize for their collaborative work entitled Miracle Kiki at the 2015 TVB Inter-Collegiate Documentary Competition. It is the second year in a row that HKBU students have won the award since the annual competition began last year.

The winning documentary Miracle Kiki features 11-year old girl Kiki Chan who has abnormal brain development. Her parents were told when Kiki was still in the womb that she would have a life expectancy of approximately two years. The documentary shows how her parents take care of her and go through many critical moments throughout the years without a thought of giving her up.

The jury commended the story which conveys poignantly the unconditional love of parents, saying that it is touching and positive. One jury member was particularly impressed by the skills of the team in telling a moving story without the use of voice-over narration.

Rachel and Wing-yan are delighted to receive the award and are grateful to Mr Sum Wan-wah, Part-time Lecturer of the Department of Journalism, for his guidance throughout the production. Upon receiving the award, Rachel expressed their gratitude to Kiki and her parents for their trust, which she found to be the most valuable thing gained during the five-month production period. She added that the award gives her confidence to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist and hopes that the documentary can bring to the audience reflections about life and the unconditional love of parents, and encourage people to face their difficulties in a positive way. Dr Alice Lee, Head of Journalism, also said: "This documentary urges us to seriously think about the value of life. It is really touching!"

The competition was held for the second year and three awards - a Grand Jury Prize and two Commendation Awards - were presented. Participants from the eight local tertiary institutions were required to produce a documentary of around eight and a half to nine minutes on social issues in Hong Kong, which comply with the Generic Code of Practice on Television Advertising Standards.

 

	(From left) Mr Sum Wan-wah, Yau Wing-yan, Rachel Lai and Dr Alice Lee