Lai bags an award for her short film 'WAShhh' (Photo: Alternativa Film and Awards Festival)
“If you want to tell stories that make an impact, tell them from your heart. Be honest, vulnerable and courageous, even if they seem ugly or are traumatic. Tell stories that really matter to you and speak to you.”
Malaysian director Mickey Lai does this in her short film, WAShhh, one of two winners under that category awarded with US$10,000 at the Alternativa Film and Awards Festival (AFAF) 2024 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Nov 29. The four winners for the full-length films received US$20,000 each.
WAShhh is based on her own experience at a National Service camp a decade ago. A possession incident occurred one night and Lai and various female trainees were ordered by their instructor to wash all the stained sanitary pads in a bin, or worse would happen.
Washing pads before disposal is a tradition among Malays. The girls were told some of them had not done that, thus an evil spirit had taken possession at the camp. In WAShhh, a Chinese girl is commanded by the teacher to lead her multi-racial trainees to wash the stained pads. The pressure, anger, confusion and frustration that ensue fracture their relationships.
Indonesian director Kamila Andini, a member of the jury, says Lai’s film “shows how menstruation, a natural cycle in women’s bodies, can [present] diverse perspectives in different cultures. An intimate reflection of one very particular voice that defines how important cinema is to us today”.
WAShhh is one of six awards given out at AFAF, which recognises and celebrates artistic works that address important social and cultural issues that affect the lives of people and local communities.
The global and nomadic non-profit Alternativa Film Project was founded by inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform. It aims to support emerging filmmakers from less developed screen industries and foster connections between filmmakers, producers and social impact leaders from Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
The inaugural awards took place in Kazakhstan last year, without the film festival. The third edition of AFAF will be held in Latin America in 2026 and plans for this new focus region will be unveiled starting next year.
