What's new

Short film competition opens

The 15th Beijing Student Film Festival launched its short film competition session recently, in cooperation with the China Film Copyright Protection Association and the Motion Picture of America Association.

University students should send a one-minute DV work, cartoon or mobile phone film to the organizing committee before March 15.

The awards include a trip to Los Angeles to visit Warner Brothers Studio, Universal Studio and Disneyland.

The festival was initiated by Beijing Normal University's students and teachers in 1993. The judging panel also includes university students and teachers. Last year, the organizing committee made IPR protection the theme of the short film contest session for the first time. This year's festival will start on April 4 and last 20 days.

Mountain volunteers chosen

After a nationwide contest, 20 people were chosen from more than 1,200 applicants to be volunteers for the "Mt Qomolangma Action at the Third Pole of the Earth", which includes several educational and environmental protection projects, like having the Intranet installed at a primary school at Qomolangma.

The final name list of volunteers was announced on Sunday at a camping site in suburban Beijing. The weekend contest consisted of climbing a difficult section of the Yanshan Mountains and the Hewlett Packard-sponsored section of presenting proposals for ways to fulfill projects in Mount Qomolangma. After the contest, renowned mountain climbers from the China Mountaineering Association offered their advice to volunteers about climbing the highest mountain on earth.

Hugh Grant lends support to cancer charity

Big-hearted actor Hugh Grant is lending his support to the charity Marie Curie Cancer Care as a thank you for its work with his late mother.

The Notting Hill star lost his mother Fynvola to pancreatic cancer in 2001, aged 63 - and admits he was unaware of the charity's good deeds before his mom's diagnosis.

He says, "Mum was very determined - as apparently most people are in her situation - to die at home and it simply wouldn't have been possible without them.

"She was in quite a lot of pain and very weak and needed 24-hour care. They were just incredibly discreet and good humored, and above all, astonishingly kind."

And Grant admits the work of the charity helped keep his mother in good spirits despite the disease, admitting Fynvola called those who sent Deepest Sympathy cards "ghouls", and christened one of her doctors Dr Death.

He adds, "She went on being silly until the end. I only saw her scared once in the whole 18-month experience."

Grant will launch the Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal on Saturday.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 02/27/2008 page18)