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Grade 11: Lecture on Life Matters

May 30, 2019

On the afternoon of May 28th, Mr. Fan Shiguang, the producer and director of the second season of the documentary series, Life Matters, came to give a speech to the 11th graders at the Big Auditorium. He shared his experience filming Life Matters, a medical documentary series centered around cancer patients and their personal battles with chronic illnesses.

Mr. Fan first shared a clip from the first episode “Fireworks” of the series. It recorded the story of a young girl who suffered from osteosarcoma—a cancerous tumor of the bone. By capturing the details of the girl and her mother’s complex emotions toward her inevitable bone surgery, the opening clip immediately pulled at students’ heartstrings and captured their full attention.

Mr. Fan then introduced the motifs of each episode of the documentary series—including the pediatric hospital, the anti-cancer road, and hospice care—through his personal anecdotes and sentimental video clips. Then, through a photo of the child in a hospital’s intensive care unit and a photo of a graduate student of one medical school, Mr. Fan conveyed how he believes that the most precious thing in life is innocence and ideals.

In the second round of Mr. Fan’s speech, an interview session was held in which students actively asked Mr. Fan questions regarding the topics of life and health. Some students asked Mr. Fan how he would bid his final farewell. Mr. Fan answered that life should be cherished, and that we must live life healthily and with dignity. Upon listening to Mr. Fan’s lecture, a student reflected that he deeply comprehended the preciousness of life, not only for himself, but for those who love us. His reflection accurately summed up the message behind Mr. Fan’s speech—to cherish life, and the warmhearted people around us.

Dialogue

Student：How do you think we should cope with death?

Director Fan：I hope that you can face death courageously, and as Tagore said “The world has kissed my soul with its pain, asking for its return in songs.”

(Written by 11(1) Alina Zhang Pictures by 11(4) Cindy Bu, 11(6) Calen Weng Supervised by Hazel Gu)