A student-produced film titled One Letter, One Heart, created by students from the School of International Communication and Arts at Hainan University, stood out among 161 entries in the "Hainan in Archives" National Video Competition.
The film was selected as a first-class collection piece. On July 15, director Zhu Siyu shared her experience, noting that as a member of the post-2000s generation, she was fortunate to use AI technology and digital tools to reconstruct historical scenes.
Through a single archive, the film chronicles the growth of a returned overseas Chinese woman, with a thread of family loyalty witnessing the transformation of Hainan's hometowns.
"Being selected as a first-class collection piece came as a pleasant surprise to our team," Zhu said.
Zhu Siyu, a 2023 class monitor for the Drama and Film Literature program, co-directed the film with classmate Yu Ruoxi. After seeing a call for entries on the university's WeChat public account, the pair eagerly prepared to participate.
In mid-April, they began researching archives at the Xinglong Overseas Chinese Farm Museum, including returned overseas Chinese rosters, commendation documents, and reports from Xinhua News Agency. They discovered the story of Xiao Ying, a returned overseas Chinese from Nanyang who established roots at the farm.
"The story of 52-year-old rubber tapper Zeng Hua and his wife Xiao Ying, who arrived from Malaysia in 1951, captivated us. Initially illiterate, they later learned to read and write. Xiao Ying became a deputy production team leader and was honored as an advanced female producer. She attended the National Women's Socialist Construction Activists Conference in 1959 and was named an All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese advanced producer in 1963," Zhu explained.
After identifying their protagonist, Zhu and Yu formed a creative team, meticulously refining the script. The film adopts a contemporary archivist's perspective, cross-temporally presenting Xiao Ying's journey from survival struggles and land reclamation to becoming a national advanced producer. It vividly interprets the patriotism of returned overseas Chinese, integrating archival documents with visual storytelling.
The work reflects Hainan's hometown development, highlights the value of archives in witnessing history and passing on spirit, and aligns with the theme of "Connecting Hometown Hearts, Passing the Torch." It also employs AI technology to digitally restore historical scenes, showcasing the fusion of technology, culture, and archives.
Team members wore multiple hats, collaborating closely to polish every detail. During the May Day holiday, Zhu and her team worked continuously for two days in the student union office, from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., meticulously adjusting frames for smoother narrative flow, compressing the video from 18 to 13 minutes.
Their dedicated efforts paid off, and the film was selected as a first-class collection piece. "We will use this opportunity to integrate professional learning with social practice, cultural dissemination, and local service, creating more art works with warmth, depth, and identity to help more people know, understand, and love Hainan," Zhu concluded.
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