中国故事，全球共鸣！宁诺学生主导短片赢得国际电影大奖青睐

Please scroll down for the English version - Chinese stories, global empathy: How UNNC student-led short films win international acclaim.

入选21项国际电影节，并先后斩获巴拿马、阿维尼翁、玻利维亚等重要电影节的“最佳影片”“最佳剧本”等多项国际大奖……《沉睡半生》，这部由宁波诺丁汉大学与英国诺丁汉大学师生联合创作、宁诺学生主导的短片近日喜讯频传。究竟是什么让这部作品破解了跨文化叙事的“密码”？

独特叙事框架

让中国故事打动全球观众

《沉睡半生》讲述了一位患有阿尔茨海默病的老人，为寻找祖父遗留的指南针而每日守在一部电梯中的故事。影片细腻地描绘了家庭面对亲人失忆时的不同选择：有人选择纵容与逃避，有人难以忍受而试图干预，也有人以理解和包容回应。短短十五分钟内，情感拉扯与矛盾层层递进，让观众感受到亲情的重量与人性的温度。

“让中国故事不仅能够‘走出去’，更能‘走进去’，与全球观众建立深层情感连接，是这部短片在国际舞台脱颖而出的关键。”宁波诺丁汉大学国际传播系系主任、创意产业与跨媒体副教授Filippo Gilardi认为。长期以来，许多中国电影难以打动国际观众，挑战不仅在于叙事结构和文化差异，更在于缺少兼具本土根基与全球视野的创作者。

为此，宁诺研究团队在分析多部曾在釜山、伦敦、戛纳等国际电影节获奖的中国短片基础之上，创造性地构建出一套提升作品国际吸引力的创作框架，并将其应用于《沉睡半生》。研究发现，能够引发国际共鸣的影片往往聚焦家庭、成长与抗争等人类共通情感，并结合象征性符号和经典叙事结构，实现跨文化情感共通。例如，“祖传指南针”象征记忆与传承，“电梯囚笼”具象化主角的困境。影片对声音等细节的精准把控，也进一步增强了情感张力和观影体验。

这一研究成果也在宁诺的教学中得到实践，并融入最新开设的数字影视制作硕士专业课程。学生在学习这套经实践检验的叙事方法同时，以此为基础创作原创剧本并拍摄短片，进一步提升专业能力与跨文化叙事技巧。

高端设备赋能

鼓励学生勇于创作

宁诺在影视制作教学设施上持续进行投入，打造世界一流的创作环境，让学生能够将创意转化为专业水准的影像作品，并有机会在国际电影节中亮相。《沉睡半生》就是一个成功的案例，也为宁诺的影视制作教育发展注入新的动力。

今年二月，宁诺与电影技术先驱阿莱（ARRI）共建的亚洲首个ARRI标准虚拟制作与动作捕捉实验室正式揭幕。实验室配备实时环境投影LED墙，并搭载ARRI Alexa 35与Alexa Mini-LF摄影系统等先进技术，助力培养新一代影视人才。

早在实验室成立前，《沉睡半生》就使用了ARRI Alexa Mini-LF摄影系统进行拍摄。宁诺影视制作研究所联合主任、ARRI认证摄影系统培训师Levi Dean博士介绍，即便大多数学生是首次参与电影制作，影片依然取得了令人瞩目的成绩，阿莱设备在其中发挥了关键作用。

“例如，阿莱相机能够以原始视频格式录制影像，这一专业格式在技术和创意上都具有高度灵活性。由于可捕捉未经压缩的传感器原始数据，这为后期调色与曝光调整提供了更大空间，让学生们大胆尝试、进行创意探索，并深入体验高端影视制作环境。”

宁诺数字影视制作硕士专业学生刘禹德表示，“在课堂，我们不仅有机会亲身学习并操作业界领先的阿莱设备，熟悉拍摄流程，在老师的专业指导下让课堂变成拍摄的片场，更重要的是真正深入理解电影创作的逻辑，并学会和团队协作。在集体创作短片的过程中，每个人都肩负不同角色——导演、编剧、制片、摄影、灯光或美术。每一次合作、每一次尝试，都是一次重新认识自我与突破边界的过程。宁诺开放的学习氛围和创新理念，让我更加坚定了用镜头向观众讲好故事、传递真挚情感的信心。”

Chinese stories, global empathy: How UNNC student-led short films win international acclaim

The short film Half the World is Sleeping (2024), created by a team of staff and students from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) and the University of Nottingham UK (UNUK), has taken the global film festival circuit by storm. Having competed in over 100 international festivals, it has received 21 official selections and won awards for “Best Film” and “Best Screenplay” in Panama, France, and Bolivia. But what makes this short film so effective in capturing the essence of cross-cultural storytelling?

A unique narrative framework that makes Chinese stories resonate globally

The film tells the story of Elsa Potts, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, who spends her days in an elevator searching for the compass left by her grandfather. It delicately portrays her family’s response to her memory loss: her daughter Sarah remains numb and detached, Ian tries to intervene, while James responds with empathy and compassion. Within just fifteen minutes, the story layers emotional tension and conflict, evoking both the profound weight of familial bonds and the tender warmth of human connection.

“The key to this short film standing out on the international stage is not just that it allows a Chinese story to ‘go out,’ but that it allows it to ‘reach in’, establishing deep, universal emotional connections with audiences around the world,” said Dr Filippo Gilardi, Head of the School of International Communications and Associate Professor in Creative Industries and Transmedia at UNNC.

Dr Gilardi further explained that, historically, many Chinese films have struggled to resonate emotionally with global audiences, not only because of narrative and cultural differences but also due to a shortage of filmmakers capable of bridging local identity with global sensibility.

In a bid to support talent development in China, the UNNC research team identified a noteworthy trend in 2022, when three Chinese short films gained significant recognition at major international festivals — including Busan International Film Festival; BFI London Film Festival and 75th Cannes Film Festival. In analysing these award-winning works, the researchers found that they shared common narrative patterns grounded in universal human experiences such as family, growth, and struggle. By emphasising and exploring values such as family harmony, professional dedication, and cultural belonging —and by employing symbolic imagery with a classical narrative structure — these films achieved cross-cultural emotional resonance. Precise attention to elements such as sound design further enhanced their emotional impact and viewing experience.

These research findings have been integrated into UNNC’s teaching and embedded within its newly launched MA in Digital Screen Production programme. Students not only learn this internationally tested narrative method but also apply it to develop their own original scripts and produce short films, strengthening both their practical skills and cross-cultural storytelling abilities.

Cutting-edge equipment enhances students’ professional skills

Aligned with this research-led approach, UNNC continues to invest in new production facilities, creating a world-class environment where students can bring their ideas to life, produce films to professional standards, and compete at international festivals. The success of Half the World is Sleeping further reinforces this momentum and highlights an exciting future for screen production at UNNC.

In February this year, UNNC unveiled Asia’s first ARRI Virtual Production (VP) and Motion Capture (MC) Studio — a milestone achievement in its partnership with ARRI, global leaders in film technology. The studio, equipped with cutting-edge tools such as real-time LED projection walls and ARRI’s Alexa 35 and Alexa Mini LF camera systems, aims to nurture the next generation of film talent right here at UNNC.

Even before the studio’s official launch, Half the World is Sleeping was filmed using the school’s ARRI Alexa Mini LF camera system. Despite most students participating in filmmaking for the first time, the project achieved impressive results — with ARRI film technology playing a key role.

Dr Levi Dean, Co-Director of the Institute of Screen Production and a Certified ARRI Camera Systems Trainer, explained that ARRI cameras can record in ARRIRAW, a professional format valued for the technical and creative flexibility it provides. By capturing uncompressed sensor data, ARRIRAW gives filmmakers far greater latitude when adjusting colour and exposure in post-production, enabling students to experiment, take creative risks, and build confidence in their ability to operate within a high-end film production environment.

“At UNNC, we not only gain hands-on experience with industry-leading ARRI equipment and learn the filming workflow, but, more importantly, we develop a deep understanding of the logic of filmmaking and the power of collaboration,” said Yude Liu, a first-year student on the MA in Digital Screen Production programme.

“During the collaborative short film project, everyone takes on different roles — director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, lighting designer, or art designer. Every collaboration, every experiment, is an opportunity to explore oneself and expand one’s horizons. UNNC’s open and innovative learning environment has strengthened my belief in the power of film to tell stories to the world with heartfelt emotion.”

图文来源：Andy Wang，宁波市微电影协会

电子编辑：Suri An

精彩内容

再创记录！宁诺每7位科研教师就有1位跻身 “全球前2%顶尖科学家”

宁波诺丁汉大学正式获批推免资格，系首批拥有此资格的中外合作高校！

推动“一带一路”高质量发展——宁诺牵头的这份联合国报告重磅发布！

宁波诺丁汉大学

2025高考招生宣传片

<<< 点击即可播放 >>>

<< 点击图片阅读栏目精彩内容，左右滑动查看更多特色专栏 >>

@Copyright 转载或进一步了解宁波诺丁汉大学市场与传媒办公室

commsandmarketing@nottingham.edu.cn