Telling Tales

During last year's event, the screenings-which included Paths of the Soul and Twenty Two-alongside Q&A sessions with the filmmakers and poster exhibitions of films based on true stories, attracted a lot of visitors.

In fact, it has long been a mission of the center to attract enthusiasts and students to join in the cause. In 2017, a project was launched by the center to offer information sessions in major cities of China, introducing to the public the concepts, values and implications of oral history.

This year, the oral history week has added a project sharing session. With applications open to all, the organizing committee will select representatives from 10 outstanding oral history projects to present at the sharing session, with funding offered by Shenzhen Yuezhong Public Welfare Foundation.

"Nonfictional oral history is an immersive representation of history, focusing on the observation of everyday, ordinary and trivial events, exploring the facts, the era and the story," Chen Wenshen, the party secretary of the CUC, commented on the center's work. "Because of oral history, ordinary people who were previously anonymous, now have a chance to make their voices heard."