"It must be the most special documentary I have ever seen!” Said Tang Meng, a student from Wuhan University(WHU), with great excitement.
Many students, smiling and chatting, were waiting outside the Lecture Hall in School of Journalism and Communication. So what on earth is going on in it?
On May25th, the Lecture Hall of School of Communication and Journalism was turned into a small cinema. Professor Churchill Roberts, a famed documentary director from University of Florida, delivered a speech named “How to Be a Documentary Director: The Last Flight of Petr Ginz” to over 100 WHU students.
After a brief greeting to the presence, Prof. Roberts started to introduce the background of the documentary. “Nearly 6 million Jews were killed in Holocaust, and 1 million of them were children.” He started his lecture in a serious tone and many students were stunned by the slaughter. The film was about Petr Ginz, an outstanding Jewish boy, who recorded his life by writing diaries and drawing incredible pictures.
Professor Roberts is introducing the documentary to the students
Upon Lights off, the show was on. Beautiful images and background music immediately took everybody into Petr’s world. Petr lived in Prague, which was at that time conquered by the Nazis. He recorded everything. Apart from those joyful moments like taking classes and getting together with his Jewish friends, his recording was filled with painful memories including a heartbroken separation from his family. In the refugee camp, he kept writing and drawing for 2 years. Although this talented boy was killed cruelly by Nazis at the age of only 16, all his creation was preserved well. The whole movie described Petr’s life through his words, artful pictures and his sister’s narration. Unexpectedly, with the help of modern animation technique, Prof. Roberts managed to bring Petr’s vivid paintings to life, making the documentary so unique and impressive to the audience.
The audience are attracted by the film
“How does one deal with your own personal emotional problems during the film making?” was a question asked by one student. To answer this question which was proposed by Li Kexin, Prof. Roberts admitted that he had suffered much pain during the creation, because the Nazis were too cruel and evil. “I didn’t want kids to see too much sorrow in this documentary,” he said, “so I persisted in getting through all the difficulties in my mind, and finally showed the capability of human spirit to my audience.”
Prof. Roberts later revealed that his next documentary would be related to the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, China. “It’s a brand new challenge for me and a new experience for old man! I will stay in China for a period of time, and I am looking forward to coming here and meeting you again.” He said this merrily. This humorous noble man was then greeted with a shower of applause from the audience.
"I have watched some documentary films about Holocaust before, but this one is totally different. It tells sad stories from a child’s view with beautiful animation and melody. This movie not only warns me the harm of wars but also gives me hope and inspiration.” said Dong Huafen, a film lover in WHU, after the lecture.
“I was totally shocked!” said Quan Xingwen, a student majored in broadcasting, still with excitement. “I can’t believe that a tragedy can be made in such a gorgeous and fantastic way! I owe Professor Roberts much appreciation, because this masterpiece has broadened my horizon so much. ”
Shortly after its release, “The Last Flight of Petr Ginz” became an immediate hit all over the world. It was shown in United Nations Headquarters as a special part to mourn over the victims of the Holocaust. Additionally, the story books about this film have been also translated and released by the United Nations into 6 different languages.
(Photo by Wu Jiamin, edited by Wu Siying, Mark & Hu Sijia)
