Feng Yingying is a UIC student from the Class of 2022 Cinema and Television (CTV) Programme. She has been admitted to the MPhil in Social Anthropology Programme at Cambridge University.
Feng Yingying
After finishing the four-year study at UIC, Feng now holds a crystal prism of life. The experience she has, the things she likes and the people she has encountered converge into a light beam, casting through the mist of confusion and uncertainty, sprinkling the colours of the rainbow on the way she goes.
Feng's recollection of her school life at UIC is still fresh and vivid. Attracted by UIC's liberal arts education and English teaching environment, she had chosen to attend the school firmly after the college entrance examination.
While assertiveness is one of her personalities, self-reflection and self-exploration are her habits.
Unlike studying in high school, college life means more choices and more possibilities, and one might feel lost when facing so many directions ahead. Therefore, to figure out where her passion lay, Feng started to take action to find the answer in her first year at UIC.
Summer Programmes, interest clubs, English Speaking Corner, Sports Complex and more, Feng participated in various campus activities, and she also got an internship at ByteDance off campus.
Group photo of The Light of Night, the first film directed by Feng Yingying
According to Feng, one of the most impressive memories she had about UIC was the wisdom she learned from Associate Professor Derek Wan, who had invested lots of time and energy in students.
Feng Yingying with UIC Associate Professor Mr Derek Wan
She said: "Mr Wan is always outspoken about our shortcomings and mistakes. He had taught me to discard my complacency and face myself more squarely. Only in this way can one make some real progress."
Mr Wan also acted as the supervisor for Feng's final year project (FYP), who turned her camera to the father-daughter relationship in the one-child policy era. Under his guidance, she finished her FYP successfully.
Feng Yingying's FYP in action
Again, during the production of her FYP, Mr Wan taught her another lesson: "There is no such thing as a 100% perfect script, but what can be optimised and improved for the better should not be compromised or yielded."
Feng's adventures rewarded her with ideal outcomes: She had won multiple prizes in the National Advertising Art Design Competition for College Students in Guangdong, the first prize in UIC's Short Video and Vlog Competition, multiple UIC scholarships, and finally, she received offers from several world-renowned graduate schools as the top-ranked student in her major.
Feng Yingying with teammates in the National Advertising Art Design Competition for College Students
Feng Yingying with UIC President, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences Prof Tang Tao in UIC's Short Video and Vlog Competition
Feng will leave for the UK in October this year to start her new academic journey. With filming techniques and a clear interest in theoretical research she has accumulated at UIC, she hopes to study cultural analysis and ethnographic research methods at Cambridge University to find an alternative perspective on documentary filmmaking.
"I hope my creations will not only express emotions but also my concerns about the social environment or social issues," she said.
From MPRO
Photos provided by the interviewee
Reporter: Cecilia Yu
Editor: Deen He
