Kota Kinabalu: As the 15th Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) came to a close, four outstanding films claimed top honours at the Awards Night, here, recently.
A celebration of the power of storytelling, the event brought together filmmakers, industry professionals and film enthusiasts, all eager to witness the winning short film entries for the Pink10 Filmmakers Competition.
Each category winner – Explore Sabah (sponsored by Sabah Tourism Board), Indigenous Language (sponsored by Kadazandusun Language Foundation), Documentary and Narrative – received the prestigious Golden Kinabalu Award trophy and RM3,000.
Chin-chiew Foong won the Explore Sabah category with his film titled “Explore Sabah”, while the other winners were “The Ryhthm of our Ancestors” by Genevives Sulan from Sarawak, “Weaving Dreams” (Breech Asher Harani, Philippines – Documentary), and “KL Limbo” (Adam Taufiq Suharto, Kuala Lumpur – Narrative).
The other finalists received the Special Mention Awards. They were “Chuff Chuff Chuff” by Koi Wang Chao from Taiwan, “To Build a Home” (Anjella Gieneena Binay Cruz, Philippines), “The Digitalised Memories” (Sin Ru Lim, China), “Don’t Get too Close to That Edge” (Anwar Johari Ho, Sabah), “Home of Heart” (Jevier Joachim, Papar), “Rise Up” (Judith Joseph, Ranau), “The Manggis in Ah Gong’s Hand” (Loo Yuan Ling, Penang), and “Memory” (Mohd Awis Abu Bakar, Sarawak).
The jury comprises Malaysia’s animation industry pioneer Hassan Muthalib, Sabah-born filmmaker Bebbra Mailin and Sabahan animator Geoffrey Sinn.
Meanwhile, National Film Development Corporation (Finas) Chief Executive Officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib noted that organising an event like the KKIFF is challenging.
“This is KKIFF’s 15th year…let’s continue this,” he said, urging all Malaysian filmmakers to unite to elevate the industry further.
Festival Director Jude Day said this year’s edition, which ran from Sept 7-15, served high-quality films which inspired creativity and connections among filmmakers.
“The festival generated appreciation of other cultures and ways of being so that there would be a better understanding of what it means to be human.”
As for next year’s festival, she hopes to obtain more funding from both public and private enterprises.
“I hope there will also be greater public awareness and involvement and that the festival will carry on with the enthusiastic, energetic workshops,” she said.
Films made by the 18 Sabah Film Lab (SFL) participants were also screened at the Awards Night – one documentary and three narrative films.
The SFL is a highly competitive, fully-funded eight-day filmmaking course from Sept 8-15.
The programme was created specifically for Malaysian filmmakers to hone their skills.
The participants were divided into four groups, and each participant took on different roles, such as director, director of photography and editor.
Participants were trained by local and international filmmaking mentors, including those from Japan, Ireland and New Zealand.
This year’s mentors were Isazaly Isa, Gabrielle Kelly, Putri Purnama Sugua, Roy Taoho, Hikaru Toda and Ahmad Yazid.
Also present at the KKIFF Awards Night were KKIFF patron Datuk Adeline Leong, KLF Chief Executive Officer Rita Lasimbang, Sabah Publishing House Sdn Bhd (SPH) Managing Director Datuk Clement Yeh and Finas board member Yee I-Lann.
