Student-led film festival celebrates momentous year with a brand new venue and special guests
KUALA LUMPUR, 17 December 2019 — The IACT Film Festival returned for its second-year over the weekend, at GMBB mall, Bukit Bintang. This year’s theme, ‘MENTAL-ity’, put the spotlight on mental health and learning disabilities — pertinent concerns in modern-day society. Through the medium of film, the festival sought to raise greater awareness and spark conversations.
“IFF 2019 has been well-receieved by the audience, industry leaders and our venue sponsor, GMBB — it is safe to say that event has been a success. We hope to have paved the way for the future of the film festival, and that it continues to grow from here.” expressed Dalisa Shahizul, Director of IACT Film Festival 2019.
Audiences during the screening of our featured films.
The festival provides a platform for student filmmakers to showcase their talent and also showcases the works of local directors and producers. The two-day event hosted over 50 attendees, including students and special guests from the film industry. This year, the festival showcased selected works by IACT students, and screened feature films by local filmmakers that touched on mental health and learning disabilities.
The categories were Short Film, Documentary and Commercial and the submissions competed for the Audience’s Choice Award and Judge’s Choice with a RM500 cash prize for Judge’s Choice Award winners.
On day one, two short films and a featured film were featured respectively, ‘The Enabler’ by Aiman Aliff, ‘Diri’ by Sharifah Aleysha, and ‘Redha’ by Tunku Mona Riza. Question and answer sessions followed each screening. The directors also shared their journey in creating their visual stories.
Ser En Low, producer and BAFTA winner.
On the second day, Singaporean Producer and BAFTA winning Ser En Low gave a keynote session on producing, followed by a screening of her multi-award nominated short film ‘Present’. ‘You Mean the World to Me’ by critically acclaimed director Saw Teong Hin was showcased.
Dr. Marieke DeVries, a scholar on clinical neuropsychology from the University of Nottingham, presented a talk on mental health and psychological well-being. She explored the portrayals of mental health in film and television, noting how mental health conditions such as those portrayed in Joker (2019) and Black Swan (2010), can be arrestingly conveyed through the medium.
Wong Chin Hor, a judge for documentaries.
Award Ceremony
Under the Commercial category, ‘Hor Yan Hor’ took home both the Audience’s Choice Award and Judge’s Choice.
Clinching first prize in the Judge’s Choice Documentary was ‘Evicted’ — an investigative documentary on the gentrification of the city and displacement of poor communities squatting in a specific area in Kuala Lumpur. Judging for the prize was cinematographer Wong Chin Hor and Ser En Low.
The Audience’s Choice Documentary went to ‘Maternal Love’ which documents a mother’s experience as an organ donor following her young daughter’s sudden diagnosis of kidney disease.
‘Missed Call’, a short film which follows the emotional story of a daughter’s bond with her father as she moves to the city for work, received the Audience Choice in Short Films. Interracial love story ‘Heartstrings’ shared the Judge’s Choice Award for Short Film with ‘Thirty Four’, a story of an autistic boy who has a talent in art.
Philip Rom, Director at Reservoir Productions, judged the final IACT Brand Story entries. IACT Brand Story is an in house competition competing to showcase their story in IACT. Winning first prize of RM1,000 and an opportunity to work with Reservoir Productions was ‘The Pursuit’. Placing runner-up was ‘The Sculpture’, taking home RM800.
In his closing speech Mr. Lawrence Chan, COO of IACT college, “IFF 2019 has been a great success. I hope this film festival inspires other student filmmakers out there to tell their stories through film and showcase their talent through this platform.”
Question and Answer session.
Question and answer session with Saw Teong Hin after screening of his featured film – You mean the World To Me.
Question and answer session after screening of a documentary.
Question and answer session after screening of documentary.
Online Education Fair 线上教育展
IACT College
https://edufair.fsi.com.my/iact
IACT COLLEGE
IACT College is a specialist college in creative communication in Malaysia. IACT has been a key player in producing talents for the creative communication industry since its inception in the 1970s. Areas of studies cover Advertising, Mass Communication, Broadcasting, Graphic Design, Film, Public Relations, Journalism and Marketing, available in Degree, Diploma, Foundation and Certificate.
IACT FILM FESTIVAL
IACT Film Festival (IFF) is an annual event that aims to showcase students’ work and
feature industry films. In its 2019 installment, IFF aims to achieve the following vision
and mission:
Vision: Empower up and coming filmmakers to be agents of truth and leaders in Malaysia through creative expressions.
Mission: IACT Film Festival (IFF) is a platform to exhibit student’s work and explore
taboo topics to spark social change. For more information, please visit https://iact.edu.my/iact-film-festival-2019/
GMBB
Located on Jalan Robertson, Kuala Lumpur, GMBB is a mall situated in Bukit Bintang
that positions itself as a mall built for creativity.
Bukit Bintang is becoming Malaysia’s creative and cultural capital. In addition to
landmarks such as Central Market, the city’s rejuvenation plan is bringing historic
buildings like the Zhong-Shan independent arts center back to life, inspiring a creative
revolution among a new breed of entrepreneurs.
As an international destination for artisanal and independent retail, GMBB hopes to be a
focal point to this movement. It will merge consumer demands with the area’s intangible
creative capital, allowing creativity to take center stage and elevating Bukit Bintang to a whole new level. GMBB hopes to connect creative individuals and enterprises, and
provide a platform for them to showcase their work to the world. While hoping that it
would elevate the creativity in Malaysia and Asia as a whole.
