Dulwich College Beijing students star in award winning film

Dulwich College Beijing Senior School students Kayla C, Claire D, Annika T, Luca C, Maggie H, and Micah C who starred in the feature-length musical film The Remnant, which recently premiered at the Portland Film Festival and earned the most prestigious award at the festival, the Director’s Choice Award!

Dulwich College Beijing was delighted to welcome the writer and director, Ms Olutade, to the College on 27 September for an exclusive screening of the film.

Year 12 student Kayla C took part in Ms Olutade’s original musical, Foundling Hill, in the winter of 2015 and, after several rounds of auditions, won the lead role in the film adaptation. Kayla attended the film festival in early September where she was publicly recognised an artist to be reckoned with, having won the compliments of industry professionals and ecstatic audiences alike. “I was lucky and honoured to be part of the cast of The Remnant,” Kayla says of the experience. “Along with my best friends in the city, knowing that we all belong to this supportive and loving cast is something comforting. I did gain skills and techniques, but even more than that – experience, global awareness, and friendship.”

The Remnant is a post-apocalyptic indie teen musical about a workhouse orphanage where teens clean garbage out of wastewater for reuse in a land that hasn’t seen rain in seven years. Award-winning Chinese Canadian director, writer and musician Karmia Chan Olutade originally wrote The Remnant as  theatrical production for her middle and high school students to help them explore the emotional consequences of environmental destruction and the loss of home, but the response from their sold-out run in Beijing led Olutade to adapt the musical to the big screen.

As one of the most vibrant film festivals in the United States, the Portland Film Festival saw a live audience of over 20,000 this year and quickly gained traction for its selectivity; this year’s submission pool was more than 3,800, more than some of the most prominent festivals in the world! The Remnant was chosen as one of nine films to be featured in the "Best Narrative Film" category.

Click here to view of a clip and learn more about The Remnant.

*Photograph from The Remnant website gallery

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