Tale of teacher-students of mixed race wins film award
The short film called A Flower’s Eyes wins the Diversity in Co-existence contest and is about a Chinese tuition teacher and her students of mixed race.
The eight-minute film was shot in the Negeri Sembilan home of Tham Wai Fook, the director and Foo Mee Teng, the tuition teacher.
Speaking to The Star Online, Tham said, “For the past two years, Foo has been giving Chinese lessons to a group of kids, who study in a Chinese primary school nearby and cannot cope with their studies because of the language barrier.
“I wanted to capture the harmonious and beautiful bond through my lens, hence the production of the film.”
The film depicts how both Foo and her students, through their regular interaction and respect for each other, learnt the customs of one another’s race.
In one scene, the students are seen leaving the classroom happily, but not before each and every one of them thanks their teacher first by touching their foreheads to her hand.
In relating her experience, Foo said she even befriended her students’ family members and through their ensuing friendships, learned so much about the differences between the races.
Tham, who graciously accepted the cash prize of RM3,600 said he hoped his short film would be like a “small needle”, poking the hearts of the viewers and moving them to think about racial harmony, the news portal said.
Sharing first prize with Tham was Ma Onn Ny, 21, a fresh graduate of the New Era College. Armed with a diploma in drama and visuals, Ma’s film called Bunga Raya revolved around the love story of a Chinese secondary school girl and her Malay boyfriend.
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The short film competition was organised by the LLG Cultural Development Centre to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the late Lim Lian Geok, a Chinese educationist, who promoted the merits of a multiracial co-existence.