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Malang short film festival highlights local talent
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Several programs will also be featured at the festival as part of an effort to increase the young filmmakers' competitiveness in the creative industry. (Shutterstock/-)
The annual short film festival in Malang, East Java, is returning for the 14th time from April 4 to 7.
Initiated by Muhammadiyah Malang University Cinematography Study Group (Kine Klub UMM), the Malang Film Festival (MAFI Fest) chose Diorama Virtual (Virtual Diorama) as its theme for this year.
"We chose this theme because we want to present current issues that are happening in Indonesia, either in politics, government, social or culture," said MAFI Fest 2018 program director Sestria Herdianti during the festival opening in UMM campus on Wednesday night.
Following a three-month curation process by professional judges, 25 short films were picked out of a total of 416 entries. They were then divided into fiction and documentary categories, as well as student and university student categories.
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One of the documentary category judges, Nashiru Setiawan, said this year's participants were quite brave in choosing a serious theme. "For example, in the student category, there's a documentary film about how foreigners try to purchase land by marrying local residents," said Nashiru.
An Aceh participant, he added, also submitted a film that follows children who collect oil palms as they struggle to make money for their family. "This is interesting, since they were able to create a documentary film using a fiction style," he said.
MAFI Fest 2018 director Fikri Hidayat said for 14 years the festival had been trying to help develop the national film industry, provide a place where young filmmakers can grow and appreciate their work by attracting audiences.
Several programs will also be featured at the festival, including Ruang Kuratorial (Curatorial Room), Ruang Apresiasi (Appreciation Room) and Temu Komunitas (community gathering) as part of an effort to increase these young filmmakers' competitiveness in the creative industry.
"Fortunately we have started to receive attention and support from the Education and Culture Ministry and Creative Economy Agency [BEK]. Sadly we still haven't received similar attention from the regional administration," he added. (kes)
