By Laveda Charles
The BMW Shorties 2012 returns
for the sixth year. The event, organised by BMW Group Malaysia, was launched at
the Taylor’s Lakeside Campus on Aug 30.
According to Sashi Ambi,
BMW’s corporate communications manager, “The (film) competition was created to
encourage the short film art form as well as to spur creativity in the
Malaysian film community.”
“Possibilities” is the theme
for this year’s competition. “The theme was chosen to encourage budding
filmmakers to further explore their creativity as well as to not limit themselves
in the discovery of opportunities,” he added.
The BMW was launched in
Malaysia in late-2006 as a platform for Malaysian short filmmakers to explore
their talent. Since then it has become one of the most anticipated annual
filmmaking events here with BMW Shorties’ productions travelling to prestigious
international film festivals in Cannes, Rome, New York, Rotterdam, and Dubai.
The competition provides
Malaysian filmmakers access to international filmmaking and as an unwitting
platform for young Malaysians to cultivate their social conscience.
New movie Sid & Berry,
which will premiere this month, was also previewed at the launch. This movie is
directed by Quek Shio Chuan who won last year’s competition with his winning
entry Guang, and is also the director of this year’s Petronas Hari Raya advertisement.
Guang has won numerous awards
worldwide – Best Film and Audience Choice at the 3rd Who Likes Short
Shorts? at the Film Festival 2012 in the United States, Best Film Alternative
World and Golden Film in the 10th Irpen Film Festival 2012.
Sid & Berry is about a
boy named Sid and a fruit, berry as they travel through a bird’s intestinal
system. However, at this point more details of the movie was not revealed
Sid & Berry’s executive
producer Ismail Kamarul, speaking on behalf of Quek, said, “Over the years, the
BMW Shorties has become an event that is eagerly anticipated by many in the
local film-making community.
Ismail, who is also the
executive producer of Guang, further mentioned that the short film competition
is also the most holistic platform for budding filmmakers and it is a great
platform for them to demonstrate their creative skills and talents to the
society, be it in Malaysia or among our peers around the world.
“We had the idea of making
Sid & Berry for almost two years. Compared to Guang, we have had more time
to solidify the idea of making Sid & Berry,” added Ismail.
In addition to first-hand
insights into film making and what goes on behind the scenes when making a
short movie, the special screening of the past winners of the BMW Shorties at
Taylor’s provided practical tips on filmmaking to 200 students and film
enthusiasts who attended the event. This was the first time that Taylor’s University
was playing host for the event and was mainly attributed to the abundance of
filmmaking talents in the university.
As in previous years, the BMW
Shorties 2012 is offering the winner a production grant of RM75,000 to make a
professional short film to be showcased both in Malaysia and at international film
festivals around the world such as the Busan International Film Festival which
will go on from October 4-13 2012 and the Cannes Film Festival that
will take place next year on the 15 May 2013.
Also present at the launch
was School of Communication’s Dean, Josephine Tan.
Entries for the BMW Shorties is now open until Oct
26. For more informational go to BMW
Shorties Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bmwshorties.
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