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SeaShorts Film Festival returns with competition, screenings
The annual SeaShorts Film Festival is back and features competitions, screenings, forums and classes until Sunday.
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Seven Indonesian films have been selected for this year's SeaShorts Competition by SeaShorts Film Festival. (Shutterstock/File)
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he annual SeaShorts Film Festival is back and features various activities, including competitions, screenings, forums and classes. Running until Sunday, the festival is streamed on its website and on Facebook.
First held in 2017, the festival highlights a wide array of short films from Southeast Asia in its SeaShorts Competition, which aims to discover and support emerging, talented filmmakers in the region.
Seven Indonesian films have been selected for the competition, namely Shitpost by Wimar Herdanto, A Closed Mouth Catches No Flies (Ora Srawung, Mati Suwung) by Destian Rendra Pratama, Gimbal: A Bet Between Tradition and Pride by Sidiq Ariyadi, Ruwatan by Ernest Lesmana, Evening Stroll (Jalan-Jalan Sore) by Candra Aditya, Sunny Side of the Street by Andrew Kose and Bura by Eden Junjung, The award ceremony will take place on Sunday.
In its fourth installment, the festival offers curated titles from several film events, such as Japan’s Image Forum Festival 2019 East Asia Competition Section; Taiwan’s Golden Harvest Awards and Kaohsiung Film Festival; and Singapore’s National Youth Film Awards. It also features films from emerging Malaysian directors.
Furthermore, people can join master classes on various elements of filmmaking, including cinematography with Indonesian cinematographer Anggi Frisca, sound editing with Singaporean sound engineer Rennie Gomes and producing with Filipino producer Bianca Balbuena.
The festival also hosts online forums that will be available for the public on Facebook, such as Southeast Asian Film Policy Post-COVID and Reimagining Short Films: Walking Uncharted Paths on Tuesday, Reinventing Southeast Asia: Made-in-Southeast-Asia on Thursday and Writing about Film in Southeast Asia on Friday.
Tan Chui Mui, the festival’s founder and director, said the organizers aimed to challenge filmmakers to deliver original narratives and techniques in line with this year’s theme, Reimagining Short Films, Reinventing Southeast Asia. “The line-up has exceeded our expectations, and we are excited by their potential in portraying important issues and pushing the boundaries of the medium,” Mui said in a statement.
The festival’s codirector Nicholas Chee added, “We are fortunate every year to share some of the most inventive storytelling from the creative voices that call this land home. Filmmakers across the region are constantly upping their game as they provide unique ways of investigating history, exploring the current and envisioning the future.”
To enjoy the event to the fullest, the festival’s passes are available with prices starting at US$10.
Since its inauguration, SeaShorts Film Festival has featured 375 short films. Among the filmmakers who have been judges at the festival's competition are Indonesian producer Mira Lesmana, Thai filmmaker Pimpaka Towira and Cambodian documentary director Rithy Panh. (wir/wng)
