Roger Jeno Sibin as the father in the short Kamatan film produced by Jetama Sdn Bhd.
KOTA KINABALU: The story of a father's sacrifice of a city job to return to care for his family's padi field and his ailing mother is highlighted in a short film to mark Kaamatan (Harvest) celebrations.
Undertaken for the first time by a state government linked company Jetama Sdn Bhd, the slightly less than five-minute film titled “JETAMA | Kaamatan 2024: Hero Kaamatan Ku” has been uploaded to the company's YouTube channel since May 26.
The company's chief executive officer Ahmad Naim Uddang said the story is about sacrifice, family spirit and heritage.
“It's story about a child who has to relocate from the city back to his father's ancestral village. The boy becomes sad and finds it difficult to cope with village life due to the sudden change," he said in a statement.
However, as he grows up, the child eventually realises his father’s sacrifice.
Ahmad Naim said that it was filmed at Kota Belud's Kampung Sangkir as well as at the Mari-Mari Cultural Village in Kota Kinabalu.
"It took about two weeks of filming and editing to complete the film," he said.
“We hope this short film will capture the hearts of viewers. It is also in line with this year’s Kaamatan Festival theme, ‘Kaamatan, Beyond Food Security," he added.
Jetama, a state water producer, is also offering cash prizes worth RM20,000 to 20 lucky viewers who share the YouTube link on their social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok)
"They are required compose a short sentence starting with ‘I like this video because...’ accompanied by the hashtags #KaamatanJetama2024 and #Jetama," he said, adding that the video link should be shared on their social media social media from May 26 to 6pm on June 1.
The film was produced by the company's general manager for environment, social, and governance Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar with local actors Rafa Rasendrya Roger as the child, Roger Jeno Sibin as the father, Winih Kimin as the grandmother and Kaamatan Unduk Ngadau (Beauty Queen) 2023, Carol Abbey Gail Grimaldi, playing the child in adulthood.
Sabah marks the end of month-long Kaamatan celebrations on May 30-31 with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expected to officially close the celebrations on May 31 at the grounds of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association in Penampang.
