2009 Grand Prize winners Brandon Loh and Shanjhey Kumar Perumal (Photo: BMW Shorties)
You probably remember Guang, the first short film directed by Quek Shio Chuan who depicted real-life experiences with his autistic brother. The short film clinched the grand prize at the BMW Shorties 2011 in Malaysia and bagged the best film awards at the 7th Leiden International Short Film Experience, and the 6th Festival Alto Vicentino in Italy. That was not all — it also received nominations for best film, best director, best actor and best actress at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival.
BMW Shorties, now in its 12th year, has not only served as a platform for fledgling filmmakers but also a launching pad for local talents to tell their stories to the world.
The theme for this year is “Drive”, inspired by BMW Group’s relentless passion and motivation to achieve a goal. The line-up of judges consists of top-drawer filmmaking veterans and commercial filmmakers such as Lina Tan (multiple award-winning filmmaker); Isazaly Mohd Isa (filmmaker and screenwriter); Nadira Ilana; Tan Chui Mui (award-winning filmmaker) and the aforementioned rising star, Quek Shio Chuan.
“We’re looking forward to see how participants will interpret this year’s theme. The industry needs brave new talents who would take storytelling to another level,” Tan said. Isazaly added, “It is especially great when a short film can bring me to the filmmaker’s world – one which extends life and not just about every day life.”
To encourage more participation from the public, the production grant has been increased to RM80,000 for the grand prize winner. Films will also be judged based on other categories such as Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing and Best Sound Design as well as the perennially popular People’s Choice Award.
Watch the winning video by Quek Shio Chuan here:
Aspiring short filmmakers can submit their entries by Oct 26, 2018. For more information, click here.
