Izah Azahari
The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) organised the inaugural Brunei Content Festival Awards Night 2022 at Serambi Suluh Hall, Tarindak d’Seni, Bandar Seri Begawan in conjunction with Digital Technology Week of the Brunei Mid-Year Conference and Exhibition 2022 (Brunei MYCE 2022).
Minister of Transport and Infocommunications Pengiran Shamhary bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mustapha, and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad attended the event.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) Ir Haji Mohammad Nazri bin Haji Mohammad Yusof, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) Hajah Tutiaty binti Haji Abdul Wahab and AITI Chief Executive Ir Haji Jailani bin Haji Buntar were also present.
Deputy permanent secretaries and senior officials from the MTIC, MPRT and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), representatives from local higher learning institutions and the broadcasting industry and participants of the Brunei Content Festival 2022 competition comprising local video publishing companies, freelancers as well as content creators also attended the event.
Ir Haji Jailani said the awards act as a competition platform to recognise content creators, producers, directors, filmmakers and local content arts activists in the broadcasting sector as AITI’s efforts to stimulate innovation and creativity in content creation.
It is also to encourage the development and production of high quality content with the potential to be commercially distributed and broadcast on television platforms or Over-the-Top (OTT) services.
“AITI hopes that the platform provided by the Brunei Content Festival will encourage content creators in the country to produce more high quality content that can compete on the international stage to penetrate regional and global markets,” he said.
The Brunei Content Festival 2022 competition was open to two categories – Industry category and Open.
The Open category featured four awards: Best Social Media Content, Best Short Film, Short Music Video and Best Short Film under the Institute of Higher Learning, while the Industry category competed four awards namely Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Horror and Best Performance Advertisement.
There were also seven Jury Awards contested. Seventy-two entries were received and the judging process was conducted by a panel of judges comprising representatives from the broadcasting industry and institutions of higher learning.
Awang Haji Nazmi presented the awards for the Jury Awards while Pengiran Shamhary presented awards for the Industry and Open categories.
Winners of the Industry Category were: Mr Brown Brazil Coffee by Evoke Craftsman for Best Performance Advertisement; Operation Hantu by Filterworks Productions for Best Comedy; Kitani by New Wave Films for Best Drama; and ‘I’ Love You by AMT Production for Best Horror.
The Open category winners were: Khilaf by Faizul Razali for the Best Music Video; Jaguh by Md Aa’qiil Ahmad for Best Short Film; Not Toaster by Rahim Sofri for Best Short Film under the Institute of Higher Learning; and Aku Bersyukur by Hanidi Haji Mahmud for Best Bruneian Identity.
The Jury Awards winner included Not Famous Drifting by Adam Groves for Best Editing; Saya Sepasang Kasut by Afiq Julaihi for Best Concept; Nada Papa by Hasrul Aizan for Best Lighting; The Poet by Envoy Films for Best Direction; Recycling Can Save Lives by Greendepot for Best Public Service/Social Media Announcement; Menyendiri by Arifuddin Zainal for Best Cinematography; and Kawan by Dayangku Aida binti Pengiran Safri for Best Performance.
The winners of each Industry and Open categories received BND2,000, a trophy and a certificate of appreciation, while the Jury Award winners received BND500 along with a trophy and a certificate of appreciation.
The Brunei Content Festival 2022 was organised with support from RTBGo and Progresif Media.
