🎬 “Where the Ink Stays” | HKUST AI Film Festival Spotlight

A single old photograph can hold more than a family portrait. It can carry a century of migration, memory and belonging.

“Where the Ink Stays” by DU Haoyu takes the spotlight in the third feature from the 2nd HKUST AI Film Festival.

This AI-generated art short film follows a Nanyang Chinese family across generations, beginning with an heirloom photograph marked with Chinese characters. From the tin mines of 1930s Malaya, to the preservation of Chinese education in the 1960s, and the digital restoration of family memories in the 2020s, the film traces how history is remembered and passed on.

At the heart of the story are the characters “平安”, meaning peace and safety. Across time, they become a message to the ancestral homeland and a symbol of what each generation chooses to protect.

Through AI-generated visuals, old photographs, written traces and historical fragments are reconnected, turning fading memories into an image journey that can be seen and felt.

The film reflects on diaspora, inheritance and cultural identity, asking what it means to preserve memory in a digital age.

More creative works are coming soon. Stay tuned for the next spotlight from the 2nd HKUST AI Film Festival.

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