Pure joy: Mohd Arash (far left) and the SMK Tinjar team receiving the Jury’s Award from Ngu (second from left).
WITH entries doubling from last year, the second edition of the Kenyalang Film Festival (KFF), held at Curtin University Malaysia in Miri, Sarawak, saw participants travelling from as far as Penang in Peninsula Malaysia, and Kuching and Baram in Sarawak, to showcase an array of documentaries and short films.
The varsity’s Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences Department of Media and Communication head Dr Ngu Ik Ying expressed delight at the overwhelming response.
“The event successfully brought together talented individuals, enabling them to interact with our students and the local community through the celebration of film,” she said in a press release dated July 4.
Held in conjunction with Curtin Malaysia’s 25th anniversary celebration, the KFF attracted over 60 Malaysian students and filmmakers, including the varsity’s Bachelor of Communications students.
The festival, which aimed to inspire and empower young film talents and to foster engagement and creative collaborations between the media industry and local communities, featured two categories: the Student Category and the Open Category.
In the Student Category, Foon Jun Xiang and his team, Studio 12 from UOW Malaysia KDU Penang, clinched the Best Documentary Award with their entry Journey to Beyond.
Phang Jing Xian and the team from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, who directed Dropping Ashes, won the Best Short Film Award in the same category.
SMK Tinjar, Sarawak, students, led by Mohd Arash Nazri, earned the Jury’s Award with their short film Hilang, while Curtin’s Bachelor of Communications student Benedict Foo Wei Loong, along with his Pineapple Media Team 1.5, received the Curtin 25th Anniversary Special Award for their Mid-Autumn Festival documentary.
In the Open category, Sydney Augustine Anak Assom’s Gendang Rayah: Tradition and Religion won the Best Documentary, while Alester Leong and MStudios & Pixbugs Film took home the Best Short Film for Abdul Taib Mahmud: The Untold Story.
The two-day screenings, held at the Department of Media and Communication’s mini theatre Cinema Lite on May 23 and 24, kicked off with a creative research methodologies webinar by Curtin University academic Dr Michelle Johnston, and concluded with an intercampus dialogue with academic staff and students from Curtin’s main campus in Perth.
Prior to the festival, the Department of Media and Communication collaborated with Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Miri, on a talk and pre-event screening, showcasing award-winning short films and documentaries from the previous KFF edition.
Looking ahead, Ngu announced plans to open the next film festival to international filmmakers, in hopes of garnering more support from the university, state government and local communities.
KFF organising chairman Goh Guang Ao described the event as a “mind-blowing experience”. He said he valued the opportunity to connect with other filmmakers and enjoyed the diverse entries from Curtin University in Australia, Peninsula Malaysia, and local production houses.
