HKU Faculty of Arts offers our congratulations to Liu Yuqing, our PhD student and a researcher in the HKUArts Arts Technology Lab, for co-directing a short film “The Tale of the Peony 牡丹記” and winning the prestigious “Best Film” and “Best Art Design” awards at the 16th Beijing International Film Festival AIGC Film Shorts Section (第十六屆北京國際電影節AIGC電影單元- 短片組).
“牡丹記” co-directed by Liu Yuqing and Jintao Sun, is a traditional supernatural narrative inspired by Yu Xuanji (魚玄機), a Chinese female poet from the late Tang Dynasty. The film employs “Xuan paper” (宣紙) as its visual background, enriching its cultural depth.
Yuqing shared, “In light of developments in AI technology, the key lies in how we utilize AI and perceive it as a tool for fostering creativity, aiming to push new boundaries through continuous experimentation.”
She also expressed her gratitude to her supervisor, Professor Tim Gruenewald, Programme Director and Associate Professor at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, as well as the Founding Director of the eXtended Humanities at the Arts Technology Lab—a centre dedicated to XR and humanities research—for his guidance and support.
Since its inception in 2024, the AIGC Film Section of the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) has rapidly become a globally influential platform for AI cinema. As the first dedicated section among major international film festivals focused on AI-driven visual creation, it has attracted thousands of outstanding submissions from dozens of countries worldwide.
Video credit: Liu Yuqing and Jintao Sun
For the full version of the film, please visit http://xhslink.com/o/ADi5FaU9B8p.
For more information about HKUArts Arts Technology Lab, please visit https://www.atlab.hku.hk/.
