On March 22^nd, 2023, USTB-DMU (De Montfort University) Confucius Institute (CI) held a video filming activity of  Empresses in the Palace to participate in the 2023 United Nations Chinese Language Day and the Third Overseas Film Festival. A total of 27 teachers and students participated in the activity, among which 17 Confucius Institute students were in the performance group and 10 Confucius Institute teachers in the filming team and logistics team.

Filming site

After many meetings and discussions, teachers at the Confucius Institute finally chose  Empresses in the Palace , a costume drama popular among foreign students, as the main content of the video. After the recruitment notice was released, applications flooded in. Through careful selection, the CI teachers invited 17 students to participate in the performance and assigned roles according to the characteristics of each student. Before the filming, CI teachers also used spare time to explain the plot outline to students and help them get familiar with the lines.

Students talk with each other during the filming

On the day of filming, the "actors" came to the filming site very early and the CI teachers were also busy preparing for the shoot, such as setting the scene, teaching lines, designing makeup and matching costumes for the "actors". During the filming, the "actors" performed very well, with their emotional roles in place. Through meticulous movements and language expression, each student successfully created the characters, such as the disdainful arrogance of Consort Fleur, the embarrassment of Lady Cao, the calm of Lady Sourire, and the handsomeness of Noble Prince Guo. The filming effect was far beyond expectation.

CI teachers take close-up shot for student actress

The video shooting activity was highly recommended by the students, who thought it was very meaningful for them to learn Chinese. "The activity was very interesting," said one student excitedly. "I dressed in traditional Chinese clothes and shot a video of ancient Chinese clothes. It was a wonderful experience! I'm going to share photos and videos of the event with my family and friends." Some students, although the shooting had ended, they were still immersed in the role. They had a heated discussion with their teachers about the plot, and expressed their expectations for the next Confucius Institute activity.

Group photo

Through participating in the courses and activities of Confucius Institute, students not only learn knowledge of the Chinese language but also deeply feel the profound Chinese culture under the guidance of teachers and experience the infinite charm of Chinese culture. In the future, USTB-DMU Confucius Institute will make more people know about and love Chinese culture through various cultural exchange activities.

Draft: ZHAO Xiaoke & ZHANG Dongming

Revision: GU Wei & CHENG Mingyuan