2023 'My China Story' video competition opens for submissions
I. Brand Positioning
A professional competition for global creators to produce videos on China; an open global platform for exchanges between content creators; an extensive collaboration aiming for creative ideas and diversified resources.
II. Introduction
The "My China Story" brand was established in 2018 as a multilingual short video program by China International Communications Group (CICG), and it is a key project under CICG's "My China Eye" program. The competition is open to both domestic and foreign creators for multilingual short videos on Chinese themes. It has been successfully held four editions and has become an international communication brand that combines short video production, annual competitions, theme competitions, creation and sharing meetings, special screenings, and co-production alliances that aims to "present China from foreign perspectives."
III. Organizations
Sponsors: China International Communications Group (CICG), Information Office of Henan Provincial People's Government
Organizers: Information Office of Zhengzhou Municipal People's Government, Xufang International Media
Strategic supporters: BNU Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture, xuxie.cn, China Intercontinental Communication Center, DOC CHINA, Beijing Returned Overseas Chinese Federation
Special partnership project: Looking China Youth Film Project
Academic support: Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies
Global strategic partner: National Geographic
Exclusive social media platform: Weibo
Partnership platforms: Xigua Video, Toutiao, Douyin, Bilibili
International media partners: Associated Press, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, ANTARA News, African News Agency, Australian Associated Press
IV. Time and Venues
V. Categories and Themes
(I) Annual Topic: Wonderful Tour of Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou is building itself into a national central city, constructing an international consumption center city that features "Chinese classics, global brands, and contemporary fashion" and creating a key hub for the inheritance and innovation of Chinese history and civilization. This topic focuses on Zhengzhou's stories featuring "cultural and martial virtues", which is related to cultural inheritance, cultural tourism, economic development, social life, food and fashion.
(II) Theme Topics
Theme Topic 1: Traveling in Henan, Understanding China
Henan is an important birthplace of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization. The origin of Chinese civilization, the invention of Chinese characters, the formation of cities, and the establishment of a unified country were all closely related to Henan.
This section focuses on collecting short videos related to Henan's economic development, technological innovation, cultural tourism, food and fashion, and is primarily targeted at individuals and teams from both China and abroad, who work and have connections with Henan.
Theme Topic 2: Discovering China across the World
Under this theme, we are expecting to see how Chinese people, food, architecture or companies integrate with a different culture. If you have observed any impressive Chinese stories outside the country, film them into videos and present them to us.
Theme Topic 3: Expats' Experiences
Expats living in China have brought in fresh ideas and diversified cultures. Share your experience as an expat or the story of other expats living here. The stories of foreigners working, living or traveling in the country are the best embodiments of the interactions between China and the rest of the world.
Theme Topic 4: Town and Country Tour
Every city or village in China has its unique landscapes, people, folk customs, and historical heritage. This theme zooms in on foreigners' stories with Chinese cities or villages. Their relations and emotional connections with these metropolises or townships are distinctive stories to tell.
Theme Topic 5: A Bite of Chinese Food Worldwide
Chinese food is by all means a fun and appealing topic for videos. If you are a fan of Chinese food, we would love to see your stories on tasting, cooking and sharing the savory food through videos.
VI. Requirements
1. Participants can be organizations, studios, or individuals. For series or program entries, three representative works must be submitted.
2. All forms of video works are welcome, including but not limited to variety shows, interviews, talk shows, short documentaries, vlogs, animations, VR, and so on. Each video should be within 10 minutes.
3. All languages are welcome for the entries. Works in languages other than Chinese or English should have Chinese/English subtitles (or submit written transcripts alongside the videos) for convenience of evaluation.
4. The works should be based on real life and spread positive ideas, and should not involve content related to pornography, violence, racial discrimination, etc. Any implantable advertising is not allowed.
5. The resolution of the works should be 1280*720 or higher, and the acceptable file formats include MPG, MPEG, AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4, etc.
VII. Qualification
Submission of videos on all above-mentioned categories and themes is open to all teams and individuals, domestic and international, professionals and amateurs. Chinese organizations stationed abroad and overseas Chinese (students included) are also welcome to join.
The video works you submit shall meet at least one of the following requirements:
1) Foreigners are directly involved in the filming and production of the video works. They can be the hosts, subjects, directors, videographers, editors, etc.
2) The videos can be shot both in China or abroad, but their content must be about China or China's cross-cultural interactions with the world.
VIII. Submission of Video Proposals/Works
The event is divided into two stages: Creative Proposal Solicitation and Work Submission. Participants can submit their creative proposals or directly submit their works.
(I) Creative Proposal Solicitation
The Competition plans to solicitate a wide range of creative proposals and shooting plans related to above-mentioned themes and topics from teams and individuals from both China and abroad, of which 15 outstanding proposals with distinctive themes and high feasibility will be selected and given professional mentorship and startup funding support.
Submission Deadline: July 8th, 2023
Materials to be submitted: Proposed creative proposals and shooting plans for the entry works, including a theme description, a shooting schedule, an introduction of the creation team, previous works, and others.
Commitment: Teams and individuals that receive startup funding support in the "Creative Proposal Solicitation" stage must provide a written commitment to submit the works with high fidelity to the shooting proposal before the deadline for the "Work Submission" stage to participate in subsequent evaluation processes.
Rewards:
1. Award for Outstanding Video Proposal of the 5th "My China Story" International Short Video Competition.
2. A filming startup fund of 5,000 yuan to be used for the production of the works to be submitted.
3. Online guidance from professionals.
4. Priority to join in our short video projects.
(II) Work Submission
How to submit your work(s):
1. Upload your video(s) to your or your team's account on Xigua Video, Toutiao, Bilibili, or Weibo. Follow the platforms' instructions and tick your video(s) with the tag of the competition name to sign up for "My China Story" International Short Video Competition.
2. Upload your video(s) to Pan.baidu.com or Google Drive, and then send relevant link(s) and password(s) to mychinastory@cnmatters.com via email. The subject line of your email should follow this format: Name-Title of the video-"Competition Submissions".
3. After submitting your entry, please scan the QR code below to fill out the entry form.
For more information, please visit the competition's website: www.mychinastory.com.
Contact: Miss Li (Tel: 86-010-68996991)
IX. Awards
(I) Topic Awards (36 in total)
Each topic will select one First Prize winner (10,000 yuan), two Second Prize winners (5,000 yuan each), and three Third Prize winners (2,000 yuan each). The winners can be individual works or series.
(II) Individual Awards (six in total)
From all the works that enter the final evaluation session, the jury will select six winners of Individual Awards, namely Best Video Host, Best Story, Best Videography, Best International Communication, Best Online Communication, and Best Short Video Series. Each winner will receive a prize of 4,000 yuan.
(III) Grand Jury Prize (one in total)
From all the works that enter the final evaluation session, one work will be selected for the Grand Jury Prize with a reward of 20,000 yuan.
(IV) Outstanding Awards (50 in total)
From all videos submitted, the jury will select 50 for the Outstanding Awards.
(V) Outstanding Organization Awards
The organizing committee will select and determine winners of the Outstanding Organization Awards according to the quantity and quality of the entries from all the participating organizations.
*All above-mentioned cash awards are pre-tax amounts.
Attachment: The sample of the creative proposals