Liu Jiakai, a Zhongshan-born director and a member of Zhongshan No.1 Middle School's class of 2003, recently took the stage to collect an award at the China-Korea AI Video Competition for his AI short film For Those We Have Never Met.

The trip was his second to South Korea this year to collect an AI film award, following his gold at the 5th Seoul International AI Film Festival, and marked his second international award of the year.

"The short film For Those We Have Never Met focuses on a moving chapter of mutual help between ordinary people in China and South Korea," Liu said. After the devastating 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, teachers and students at Jeonnam Jeil High School in South Korea raised funds for Beichuan High School in Sichuan province. "The students and rescue teams in the film are fictionalized and stylized, but the institutions, dates, fundraising methods and key events are all grounded in real historical records."

Liu recalled that when the film was screened in full in Seoul, it struck a chord with many South Korean audiences. Several South Korean creators and Chinese students in South Korea came up afterwards to discuss the work with him.