Yang Mei

yangmei_szdaily@163.com

AS the five-day 19th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) wrapped up June 11, the anticipation for the results of the 2023 ICIF Expats Short Video Contest has also come to an end as the winners have finally been announced. The contest was organized by Shenzhen Daily.

This year’s fair received over 4 million visits to its main venue, the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center, as well as 64 subvenues across the city. Among the visitors, many talented expatriates in Shenzhen visited the fair and showcased their creativity, love for Chinese culture, art and technology through captivating videos to overseas viewers on TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Based on the number of likes their videos received on the aforesaid platforms as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, the organizer has selected the winners.

Neslihan Kilavuz from Türkiye claimed the first prize with 1,190 likes of her video titled “ICIF Shenzhen” on her YouTube channel “Nesli in China.” In her video, Kilavuz introduced her audience to the charms of Chinese characters, traditional Chinese paintings, as well as the integration of culture and technology. Kilavuz said she had an “amazing experience” at ICIF in her concluding words, stating that “The future technology took me to another universe, and the culture made me feel like home.”

Taking home the second prizes are the visually captivating videos “This is how China is designing its bright future now” created by Venezuelan content creator Rafael Saavedra, posted on his YouTube channel “Rafa Goes Around!,” and a video created by Veronica Muraveva from Russia.

Four entries submitted by Ekaterina Ding (Germany), Marina Vilchinskaia (Russia), Amlan Ronald Aparajit (India) and Sharma Priyasha (India) won third prize. Daniel Miller (the U.S.) and Berger Sébastien Alain (France) are finalist prize winners.

With mesmerizing music, seamless transitions and engaging narration, Saavedra’s video highlighted the fair’s high-tech displays such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), taking viewers on a virtual journey through time and space.

The video was well received by his channel’s subscribers who left positive comments. A netizen named “Eduardo Dawning” said, “Love Shenzhen, one of those of cities really worth revisiting. Because they always have something to show the world.” Another follower “vinod kumar” commented, “Very impressive exhibition, China is only up to date in science & technology.”

Running between June 7 and Thursday, the 2023 ICIF Expats Short Video Contest aimed to present the cultural feast to overseas audience via social media platforms and boost its influence. The winning entries will also be posted on EyeShenzhen, the official multilingual portal of Shenzhen, as well as on Shenzhen Daily’s official WeChat (WeChat ID: iloveshenzhen), YouTube (@shenzhendaily4920), Twitter (@szdaily1) and Facebook (Shenzhen Daily) accounts.