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| SeaShorts and Next New Wave Nominee - Peon |
The
festival will open with the omnibus film Mekong 2030, featuring directors from the five countries surrounding the Mekong River
Kulikar Sotho (Cambodia), Anysay Keola (Laos), Sai Naw Kham (Myanmar), Anocha
Suwichakornpong (Thailand), Pham Ngoc Lan (Vietnam). Mekong
2030 is an anthology film comprising five short stories that envision the
future of the Mekong River from different cultural perspectives.
The highlight of the festival continues to be the competition,
in which 30 nominees, chosen from 544 entries, will vie for the coveted
SeaShorts Award. The Next New Wave Award will continue to reward the best
Malaysian short film. Winners will be decided by a jury composed of
Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou, Indonesian cinematographer Anggi Frisca,
Philippine producer Bianca Balbuena, Singaporean sound engineer Rennie Gomes,
and Malaysian historian Dr. Farish A. Noor.
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| SeaShorts Nominee - A Closed Mouth Catches No Flies (Ora Srawung, Mati Suwung) |
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| SeaShorts Nominee - A Remembering of Disremembering (Ang Pag-alaala sa Sadyang Paglimot) |
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| SeaShorts Nominee - The Graduation of Edison |
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| SeaShorts and Next New Wave Nominee - By The Southern Sea |
The daily schedule of screenings is further complemented by other curated highlights, offering compelling insight into the cinematic landscape of the region and beyond. On the bill are showcases of selected works from Japan’s Image Forum Festival, Taiwan’s Golden Harvest Awards and Kaohsiung Film Festival, Singapore’s National Youth Film Awards, as well as the early pieces of rising names in the Malaysian scene.
In particular, Migrating Forms is a programme from
the Kaohsiung Film Festival that explores the inner lives and desires of
Southeast Asian migrant workers who grapple with challenges while working in
Taiwan. Among the films is Nine Shots by Su Che Hsien, about Ah Fei, a
Vietnamese who left work to work in Taiwan only to later escape from his
Taiwanese employer in hope of earning more money to send home, as well as Arnie
by Rina Tsou about a Filipino seamen who buys a ring to propose to his girlfriend
over the phone, only to learn she is pregnant.
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| Nine Shots |
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| Arnie |
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| Tea Land (高山上的茶å›） |
The selection of works from the Image Forum Festival 2019 East Asian Competition section form a programme called Space In Between, which creates memories, personal longings, anger, awkwardness and clarity amidst a different perspectives.
Engagement remains at the heart of the SeaShorts experience
and each screening is accompanied by a Q&A session, with forums,
masterclasses, and workshops delivered by prominent industry players also on
the cards.
SeaShorts is made possible with the support of The Japan
Foundation Asia Center, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, Taipei
Ministry of Culture, Singapore National Youth Film Awards by *SCAPE, Purin
Pictures, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas), Da Huang
Pictures, Sinema Media, Aputure Imaging Industries, Deity Microphones, and Zoom
Corporation. Festival passes are on sale at the early bird price of USD5 until
23rd August and USD10 thereafter.
For more information, visit seashorts.org
Nominees for SeaShorts Award
A Closed Mouth Catches No Flies, d. Destian Rendra Pratama, Indonesia
A family becomes the talk of the village’s women after a
theft.
A Day Will Come, d. Tinshine Mont and
Christine Flemming, Thailand
A young reporter is confronted with visions of internalised
fear and paranoia when interviewing the sister of a missing activist.
A Remembering of Disremembering, d. Cris A.
Bringas, Philippines
The journey of Manila’s oldest movie theatre from gradiosity
to obsolescence is told through the romance between a retiring projectionist
and late-blooming actress.
Aishah, d. Sayyid Hannan, Malaysia
Two siblings deal with the death of their mother while
hosting her mourning ceremony.
BURA, d. Eden Junjung, Indonesia
While danger lurks in a time of political unrest, a scholar
leaves his guard post to meet with his lover.
By The Southern Sea, d. Vincent Kong Yentao,
Malaysia
A boy tired of hometown life comes of age when he meets a
mysterious woman at the beach.
Elsa, d. Lim Jen Nee, Singapore
Six-year-old Stanley has a year left to play Disney’s Queen
Elsa to his heart’s content, before he has to start schooling.
Evening Stroll, d. Candra Aditya, Indonesia
When a couple loses their wallet during a picnic, they
rediscover the beauty of their love through conversation.
Gimbal: A Bet Between Tradition and Pride, d.
Sidiq Ariyadi, Indonesia
Superstition and ritual surround a farmer’s daughter who
wears dreadlocks.
Here, Here, d. Joanne Marian B. Cesario,
Philippines
A boy and and his mother await the fate of his father after
a mining accident.
How He Met My Mother, d. Colin Huang Ruobin,
Singapore
A young man attempts to reconcile with his girlfriend’s
disapproving mother before the couple has to break up for good.
Hush, tonight the dead are dreaming loudly, d.
Kong Pahurak, Thailand
On the anniversary of a political massacre, an unexpected
guest sends the memorial into an uproar.
Kampung Gajah, d. Yoeng Kuok Hong, Malaysia
Wei Hong returns to his hometown, as he seeks to come to
terms with old memories and find an old flame.
Ladies’ Choice, d. Celina Peñaflorida,
Philippines
While grieving the loss of a long-term relationship, Miriam
confides in her mother, leading to a tense argument about motherhood.
Last Time I Was An Actress, d. Grace Constance
Song Jia Ern, Singapore
The director visits her aunt, a former amateur Chinese
street opera actress, and the two recreate the heyday of the dying cultural
art.
Mary, Mary, So Contrary, d. Nelson Yeo,
Singapore
A phantasmagoric narrative about a Chinese woman named Ma Li
who dreams she is Caucasian and called Mary instead.
Peon, d. June Wong, Shaiful Yahya, and Syaz
Zainal, Malaysia
A true story told entirely through a phone screen, a
delivery rider gets more than he bargained for when he receives an order to
deliver passports.
Prelude of the moving zoo, d. Sorayos
Prapapan, Thailand
A documentary recounting the last day Dusit Zoo was open
before it closed to the public in 2018. ·
Ruwatan, d. Ernest Lesmana, Indonesia Sri’s weekly routine of accompanying her
blind mother to alternative therapy may soon come to an end.
Shitpost, d. Wimar Herdanto, Indonesia
A motorcycle freestyler tries his hand at being a YouTuber
on the wishes of his much younger girlfriend.
Star, d. Carla Pulido Ocampo, Philippines
Glitches, linguistic differences, and the political
incorrectness of the 1950s get in the way as a farmer attempts to communicate
with a showbiz star trapped inside a television.
Stay Awake, Be Ready, d. Pham Thien An,
Vietnam
Three young men are engaged in conversation at a street
corner, until a motorcycle accident turns their night into something more.
Sunny Side of the Street, d. Andrew Kose,
Indonesia
Amidst the 1998 Jakarta riots, two strangers find themselves
sharing a journey home.
The Cloud Is Still There, d. Mickey Lai Loke
Yee, Malaysia
A young woman grapples with clashing religious beliefs as
she prays for her terminally ill grandfather.
The Graduation of Edison, d. Pham Hoang Minh
Thy, Vietnam
In a village where every child is born with trees on their
heads, problems arise when a girl rejects a traditional rite of passage.
The Man Who Isn’t There and Other Stories of Longing,
d. Rom Trishtan Perez, Philippines
Short and innocent glimpses of human connection told through
the lens of a photobooth.
The Quiet, d. Radheva Jegatheva, Malaysia An
astronaut comes to a startling realisation as he ponders in the quietness of
space.
The Slums, d. Jan Andrei Cobey, Philippines
The colourful lives of the Reyes family come under the intense scrutiny of a
documentary crew.
This Is Our Land, d. Nonilon Abao, Philippines
An indigenous mountain community make a stand against a foreign mining company
and the destruction of their ancestral land.
Uncle Goose Waits For A Phone Call, d. Kew Lin
Qin Zhi, Singapore The lonesome Uncle Goose goes to incredible lengths to
ensure he never misses an old friend’s phone call.
Nominees for Next New Wave Award
Aishah, d. Sayyid Hannan, Malaysia
Two siblings deal with the death of their mother while
hosting her mourning ceremony.
By The Southern Sea, d. Vincent Kong Yentao,
Malaysia
A boy tired of hometown life comes of age when he meets a
mysterious woman at the beach.
Kampung Gajah, d. Yoeng Kuok Hong, Malaysia
Wei Hong returns to his hometown, as he seeks to come to
terms with old memories and find an old flame.
Peon, d. June Wong, Shaiful Yahya, and Syaz
Zainal, Malaysia
A true story told entirely through a phone screen, a
delivery rider gets more than he bargained for when he receives an order to
deliver passports.
The Cloud Is Still There, d. Mickey Lai Loke
Yee, Malaysia
A young woman grapples with clashing religious beliefs as
she prays for her terminally ill grandfather.
The Quiet, d. Radheva Jegatheva, Malaysia
An astronaut comes to a startling realisation as he ponders
in the quietness of space.