“Lighthouse Memories: Cape D’Aguilar” and “Glow from the Other Side”, two documentaries filmed by MA Communication and New Media and MA Integrated Marketing Communication students of the Department of Media and Communication (COM), were screened on 17 May 2020 at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum as part of the International Museum Day 2020 events.
These documentaries about Cape D’Aguilar are produced in collaboration with the Lighthouse Heritage Research Connections (LHRC) of CityU’s Run Run Shaw Library, which aims at encouraging students to engage with archival collections in discovery, innovation, and community-related activities by arranging various activities on the preservation of lighthouses.
The 18-meter-tall Cape D’Aguilar is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Hong Kong. It was put into service on 16 April 1875 and ceased operation in 1896, three years after the Waglan Island Lighthouse was opened. As the first lighthouse in Hong Kong playing an important role in Hong Kong’s maritime history, it was declared a monument in 2005.
The English documentary “Lighthouse Memories: Cape D’Aguilar” is directed by Jeffrey HAN, and produced with crew members CHEN Jingwen, HUANG Yuhe, LI Jingxuan and ZHENG Qianyu. Filled with visually stunning shots, it shows the beauty of Cape D’Aguilar lying on the southeastern tip of Hong Kong Island. Through the sharing of maritime history expert Stephen DAVIES, an indigenous inhabitant residing in Hok Tsui Tsuen, and Anthony LEUNG (a CUHK postgraduate architecture student who has constructed 3D models of different lighthouses in Hong Kong), it also tells the history and people’s fond memories of this historic building.
Directed by WANG Zhouyue and produced with crew members TANG Shiyun, XU Yingjie and Zheng Jing Sha, the Putonghua documentary “Glow from the Other Side” records the experience of Sarah STEVENSON, a visually impaired student and one of the curators of the lighthouse exhibition under the same project. She learnt about the structure of Cape D’Aguilar using the 3D models Anthony created and paid a visit to Cape D’Aguilar to feel the building herself. As she said in the video, she hopes to be the lighthouse of the blinds and helping them discover the world. The message conveyed in the documentary echoes the theme of this year’s International Museum Day “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion 2020”.
In the preface of the event booklet, Special Advisor of LHRC Dr Steve CHING says this project motivates students to read, think, write, create and dream. It encourages them to explore knowledge beyond their fields of study with the aid of historical documents, and present their research findings through 3D models, documentaries, audiobooks, and many other forms of creation. Serving as the producer of the two documentaries, he also commends students' commitment to the project amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
