Izah Azahari
Q Fikri received BND1,500 after his short film Langkah was named Islamic Short Film at the Brunei Islamic Film Festival (BIFF) screening and Awards Night recently.
Over an hour-and-a-half of Islamic short films were screened at the event.
Meanwhile, Hati-Hati Dengan Mata by Muhammad Haziq Aniq bin Hanip was awarded the Jury awards. The musical short film maker received a BND300 cheque.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin presented the prizes.
Also in attendance were Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Hajah Nurul Amal Munjiatul Athirah binti Pengiran Sura Negara Pengiran Anak Haji Muhammad Bey Muntassir and Deputy Permanent Secretary (Culture) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Dr Siti Norkhalbi binti Haji Wahsalfelah.
The Awards’ Night kicked off with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and welcoming remarks by BIFF Festival Director Siti Kamaluddin, who highlighted that while exploring ideas with participants, they discovered there were many stories yet to be told.
“I am proud of the Brunei Islamic Film Festival participants as they had each come up with different perspectives and chose to tell the stories in their own unique ways,” she said, expressed joy to see various genres being incorporated into the Bruneian Islamic content.
The shortlisted films explore various Islamic themes, including love, conversion to Islam, mental health, life struggles and daily Islamic practices.
Other films shortlisted included Peradian by Mohamad Akmal Marhain bin Umar, My Life Changed by Aqil Faiz, Sebelum Terlambat by Saffa Suhaili and Waktu by Rooif.
The inaugural film festival kicked off earlier this month with a symposium and workshop dedicated to exploring the Islamic film genre in the Sultanate.
According to local filmmaker Aqil Faiz, the film festival provided professional mentorship and helped raise the production quality of their movies.
Films submitted to BIFF could be narrative, documentary or experimental but submissions needed to be less than 12 minutes in length. The event aimed at encouraging Islamic filmmaking in Brunei to provide a point of departure for future academic studies.
“Film genres incorporate individual conventions that bolster communication with specific audiences. The films submitted are a starting point to examine any similarities in terms of story, visuals or sound exist that can be attributed to a Bruneian Islamic screen identity,” said panel jury member Dr Alex Fischer.
