While other students were busy preparing for commencement, a group of seniors from Nanjing Normal University were busy with a project of their own - a touching telecine to say goodbye to campus life.
Telecine is film-speak for television camera production.
The title of this particular work is "Mementos for Graduation".
It tells the story of a pair of campus lovers who have to make a momentous decision about their relationship when they find out they cannot stay in the same city after graduation.
Most of the performers had no acting or film experience at all.
The film was produced between early April and late May during a crucial job-hunting period. That meant that all of the cast and crew worked voluntarily, with some making personal sacrifices just to bring the film to life to fulfill a dream.
Journalism major Zhang Pin was director and screenwriter. His decision to devote all his energy to the film meant giving up a required internship at a TV station. That cost him a coveted opportunity to work as a reporter in Beijing.
For Liu Xiaoxi, the producer, the job was even tougher: How to raise funds for the risky project. Liu spent a long time trying to drum up financial support but had no success.
In the end, she borrowed money from her parents and friends to finish the project. "In fact, our money was very limited. We had just 30,000 yuan to produce a 90-minute film," she explained softly.
According to Xu Lu, one of the main actresses, it was team spirit that got them through the financial difficulties. The film has a lot of campus scenes, such as a markdown sale of second-hand books before graduation.
It also uses the Nanjing dialect for the dialogue, which has been quite a hit among the student audience. "I enjoyed it a lot because it's so close to our daily life," said Lu Wei, a junior from Nanjing University.
The film has been shown at other Nanjing universities and is scheduled to be part of the second National Television Festival for College Students later this year.
(China Daily HK Edition June 19, 2002)
