Engaging creative minds and empowering research through Curtin Malaysia’s Kenyalang Film Festival

Miri – 23 January 2024 – The Department of Media and Communication of the Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences at Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) is organising its second annual Kenyalang Film Festival (KFF) on 23 and 24 May 2024 in conjunction with Curtin Malaysia’s 25th Anniversary this year.

Supported by FINAS Sarawak, Sarawak Media Group (TVS), and Freedom Film Network, the film festival is spearheaded by a group of Bachelor of Communications students from the Department of Media and Communication calling themselves the M-Project Group. The group aims to inspire and empower young film talents and foster engagement and creative collaborations between the media industry and local communities.

Head of the Department of Media and Communication, Dr. Ngu Ik Ying, mentioned that the KFF reflects Curtin Malaysia’s commitment to promoting Borneo content and engaging with local creative communities, as well as leveraging its status as a Sarawak state-owned university offering quality Australian education to advance Sarawakian talent.

“The Kenyalang Film Festival aims to promote Curtin Malaysia as a creative hub in Northern Sarawak and Borneo to nurture award-winning collaborations,” said Dr. Ngu.

“The highlight of this year’s festival is the opportunity for local audiences to see student entries from Curtin University’s global campuses, as well as creative research presentations by their academics. The event will provide a space for more engaged research and encourage the creation of aesthetic pleasure in scholarly and artistic work.”

According to Dr. Ngu, the venues to showcase creative research are quite limited in Malaysia, so she hopes that the KFF will serve as an effective platform for creative research scholars to engage audiences and showcase their practice-based film research outputs.

It will furthermore to provide a platform for young aspiring filmmakers or first-timers to showcase their work, meet experienced filmmakers for mentorship, and connect with industry partners for funding.

“We are exploring different ways of organising film festivals that would really benefit our students, scholars, and the local communities by blending theoretical criticism with creative production and expression,” she said.

“Through the Kenyalang Film Festival, we hope to promote local content and provide equal opportunities for all creative minds in Borneo. It will be a platform for them to express themselves and engage the diverse ethnicities in Sarawak,” she remarked.

The festival will comprise three categories: Student (secondary school/university), Open (public/aspiring filmmakers), and Special (creative researchers). It is open to all Malaysians and participation is free of charge. International students or expatriates working in Malaysia are also welcome to participate.

Screenings will take place at the Department of Media and Communication’s mini theatre, Cinema Lite, with a pre-event at Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Miri featuring talks about screen creativity and digital storytelling, it will also feature screenings of some previous year award-winning short films and documentaries.

Film enthusiasts and creative researchers can submit their short films and documentaries of any length, preferably with Sarawak or Borneo content, to the Kenyalang Film Festival until 31 March 2024. To register for the film festival, fill in the Kenyalang Film Festival (KFF) 2024 Submission Form at https://bit.ly/KenyalangFilmFest.

For more information, follow @mprojectcurtinmalaysia on Instagram or contact organising chairperson Skyler Goh at +60168763373.

Entries for Kenyalang Film Festival 2024 now open until 31 March 2024

Head of the Department of Media and Communication Dr. Ngu Ik Ying