The award ceremony for the 6th Edition of PRISM Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Short Film Festival was held at Lecture Hall 2, University Technology Hub (UTH), UBD on Thursday.
With this year’s theme ‘Crisis and Opportunity’, the festival received more than 50 submissions from students including local and ASEAN institutions.
The participating institutions whose works made to the final competition included Mahakarya Institute of the Arts Asia (MIAA), Politeknik Brunei, UBD, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA), as well as three higher institutions from Thailand: Bangkok University, Srinakharinwirot University, and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.
As with previous editions, Dr Yong Liu from the Design and Creative Industries (DCI) programme and Mayyer Ling from the English Studies programme co-organised this year’s festival.
Six award categories were up for grabs in the 6th Edition PRISM. Best Animated Short Film Award, Best Documentary Short Film Award, Best Experimental Short Film Award, Best Fiction Short Film Award, Best Social Media Content Award (with a theme on mental health) and People’s Choice Award.
The winners of the first five categories were decided by a panel of local media professionals and an international juror from University of Transilvania in Brasov, while the People’s Choice Award was selected by the viewers’ online voting on Progresif Media.
In just under two weeks through the Progresif Media platforms, the total number of votes received for this year’s People’s Choice Award was 1,549, which was over 200 votes more than last year.
The winners for all the five competition categories are: Jungle (MIAA, Brunei) for the Best Animation Short Film Award; Wonder Kids (Politeknik Brunei) for the Best Documentary Short Film Award; Aimagination (Bangkok University and Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand) for the Best Experimental Short Film Award; I Am an Iron (UBD) for the Best Social Media Content Award (theme on mental health); and Watch Over Me (King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand) for the Best Fiction Short Film Award.
Each of the winners received a BND500 cash prize supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at UBD.
The most anticipated People’s Choice Award went to When the Light’s Gone (UBD) with total of 189 online votes. They took home a BND300 cash prize sponsored by Tech Haven.
This is the first time the PRISM UBD Short Film Festival included a Social Media Content competition.
During the feedback session, Jury Chair Producer of Filterworks Productions A’aqiil Ahmad expressed his appreciation for the storytelling abilities of student filmmakers. He also reminded the need to be mindful of character developments while engaging with creative expressions of ideas and techniques in filmmaking.
Media Operations at Progresif Media Zainul Ariffin Junaidi added that soundtrack and voiceovers are crucial components that can potentially add to the immersive experience of the audience.
Meanwhile, Senior Producer at Radio Television Brunei (RTB) Amali bin Haji Roslin emphasised the need to create content with a meaningful impact to the audience.
Also present at the award ceremony was Dean of FASS, UBD Dr Kathrina binti Haji Md Daud; Deputy Dean of Academic Affairs at FASS Associate Professor Dr Debbie Ho; and Programme Leader of the DCI programme Dr Chester Keasberry.
Meanwhile, the 7th annual Brunei Film Blitz hosted a press conference between MIAA and the Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to announce their future creative partnership.
According to MIAA Dean Dr Fischer, “We have been informally working with UNIMAS for over a year on various creative projects. This announcement is a significant step forward in solidifying our future collaboration. These collaborations include working on film productions, providing exchange opportunities and academic research.”
MIAA Graduate Danial Shamshuddin explained how his ideas for a new Bruneian super hero, Ketaman, benefited from this collaboration.
“My ideas are hard to realise in Brunei because we don’t have the skill sets or equipment. The UNIMAS students are so talented, it is great to see my vision become a reality.”
A memorandum of understanding will be signed between the two institutions in early 2024. – Azlan Othman
