Eight students from the Department of Media and Communication (COM) won the Commendation Award for their work, entitled Back and Forth (不進則退), at the 2017 TVB Inter-Collegiate Documentary Competition. This is the first time since 2014 that COM students have won a prize at this competition.

The documentary is about a little boy who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. His parents did not give up and tried different means to help and encourage him to overcome the problems and difficulties that he faced. The documentary delivers a positive message: don’t give up and be positive. In the documentary, instead of using voice-over techniques, the students used sound bites from interviewees to link the scenes. This approach is difficult to pull off without very comprehensive research and a carefully thought-out story framework.

Mr KWAN Wai Peter and Mr MA Wang-wai have been the teachers supervising the students. They talked to the students, listened to their ideas and gave them advice on their project. The teachers appreciated the efforts of the students. They believe that COM students will become more pro-active in participating in future competitions.

The competition presents a Grand Jury Prize and two Commendation Awards each year. Participants from local tertiary institutions are required to produce a documentary of around nine minutes on social issues in Hong Kong in compliance with the Generic Code of Practice on Television Advertising Standards. The full version of the COM students’ winning entry was aired on 2 September 2017 on TVB Jade.