“Ever Shining Cinema” Public Benefit Activities Arrive at Beijing School for the Blind, Allowing Visually Impaired Students to Share the Capital’s Cultural Event
On September 23, 2021, the 11th Beijing International Film Festival “Ever Shining Cinema” Public Benefit Activities arrived at the Beijing School for the Blind. 15 volunteers, who are teachers and students from the Communication University of China, screened the barrier-free version of the film The Climbers for 60 students of the school. The film tells the story of how a Chinese expedition successfully reached the top of Mount Everest in 1960 and became the first to ascend to the summit from the North Slope.
Site of “Ever Shining Cinema” Public Benefit Activities
Before the screening of the film, volunteers of the “Ever Shining Cinema” interacted with students of the school surrounding the theme of the BJIFF, creating a warm atmosphere. Through a few stories, the volunteers introduced the relevant knowledge about films, reviewed the development history of the BJIFF, carried out the interaction with students regarding the BJIFF in a Q&A link. When asked about the theme of the Beijing Film Panorama of the 11th BJIFF, a boy accurately answered: 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China and Beijing Winter Olympics, winning the warm applause of the audience. In an educational activity with fun, students of the school have further strengthened their understanding of film knowledge and the BJIFF.
Site of “Ever Shining Cinema” Public Benefit Activities
Students actively answer questions raised by volunteers
During the screening, students were very attentive and enjoyable, and they laughed or got moved with the development of plots. When the film told, “In 1960, the Chinese expedition successfully reached the top of Mount Everest”, there was an outburst of applause on the scene. Li Yiran, a student in the second year of high school, was among the first to applaud, saying: “Seeing this scene, a sense of pride arises spontaneously in my heart.” Zhou Guanqi, a student in the first year of junior high school, said that watching hero movies like The Climbers have given him more courage to face life.
Students actively answer questions raised by volunteers
Student raise their hands to participate in the interaction
The BJIFF is the first international film festival that has listed the “Ever Shining Cinema” as a fixed public benefit screening activity. It has built a broad platform for visually impaired people to participate in international cultural events, and effectively promoted the cultural sharing in the whole society. The “Ever Shining Cinema” made its debut at the BJIFF in 2019, when more than 160 visually impaired friends were invited to watch the barrier-free version of the film Hello Mr. Billionaire. In 2020, the Beijing Film Market Exhibition of the 10th BJIFF was organized online due to the COVID 19 pandemic. During the period, the “Ever Shining Cinema” project was invited to participate in the exhibition, and launched an online viewing activity “Online Ever Shining Cinema”, aiming to allow more visually impaired people to enjoy barrier-free movies through the network.
The public benefit screening at the Beijing School for the Blind coincided with the school’s “A Film Once a Month” Activity. On April 28, 2021, the “A Film Once a Month” Activity officially opened at the Beijing School for the Blind. The activity plans to screen one barrier-free movie produced by the “Ever Shining Cinema” project for students once a month, aiming to educate people through outstanding films, guide visually impaired students to study the Party history and understand the national conditions, and practice the core values of socialism. Barrier-free movies have brought much fun to the life of students, and become the “second classroom” that are indispensable, said Ru Tianzi, head of the moral education division.
A student volunteer of “Ever Shining Cinema” exchanges with a student of the school
The “Ever Shining Cinema” project was jointly launched by the Communication University of China, Beijing Gehua CATV Network Co., Ltd. and Dongfang Jiaying Television Cinema Media Share Company, and intended to produce and promote barrier-free films for visually impaired people and build a “cultural sidewalk for the blind”. At present, teacher and student volunteers have produced more than 300 barrier-free movies, achieving the public benefit screening and promotion in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, covering 2,244 special education schools across the country. In the future, the “Ever Shining Cinema” project will further focus on the production and promotion of barrier-free movies, and contribute to the public benefit and cultural sharing.
A group photo of student volunteers of the screening activity