BMW Group Malaysia today announced the top 10 finalists’ line up for this year’s BMW Shorties. The sixth installation of Malaysia’s most prestigious and longest running short film competition received a total of 91 entry submissions, demonstrating the on-going growth and vibrancy of the competition since its inception in 2007.
“From the very beginning, the BMW Shorties program has received tremendous support from the film making community here. After all, it is the artists and the film community that have made this competition the success it is today. In the six years of the competition, we have already amassed an impressive total of 479 films and we have shown more than a third of these films at competitions all over the world.” said Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications BMW Group Malaysia.
Ambi added that the competition, BMW Group Malaysia’s commitment to supporting arts and cultural initiatives in the country, continues to be a platform which offers genuine opportunities for Malaysian artists to be recognised worldwide.
The theme for this year’s BMW Shorties short film competition – ‘Possibilities’ was chosen to encourage budding film makers to further explore their creativity, talent and cinematic passions. Each entry provided a very unique interpretation of what the idea of possibilities could mean, making for a very entertaining selection of films.
The BMW Shorties 2012 Top 10 Finalists in no particular order are as follows:
• ‘Crossroads’ by Rebecca Yau Yi Mun
• ‘Da Capo’ by Tan Ce Ding
• ‘Das’ by Suresh Naidu
• ‘Haruman Hujan’ by Martin Chong Yuh Lin
• ‘Johan Adam’ by Lim Pik Lan
• ‘Leap of Faith’ by Bryan Lim Yong Tiam
• ‘Murdered’ by Chua Dick Woei
• ‘Muthal Naal Indru’ by Jagatesh Letchumanan
• ‘Sincerely, The End’ by Lee Wei Sheong
• ‘Talent House’ by Tan Hyon-Le
The BMW Shorties 2012 Award nominees in no particular order are:
• Best Cinematography
– Leap of Faith
– Muthal Naal Indru
– Murdered
• Best Screenplay
– Murdered
– Muthal Naal Indru
– Talent House
• Best Production Design
– Johan Adam
– Murdered
– Talent House
• Best Editing
– Johan Adam
– Muthal Naal Indru
– Murdered
• Best Sound Design
– Haruman Hujan
– Murdered
– Muthal Naal Indru
• Best Actor
– Lee Yee Han as Bai Long in Murdered
– Chan Boon Woei as Zhen Wei in Murdered
– Kris Law as the talent in Talent House
• Best Actress
– Jaya Ganason as the younger female in Muthal Naal Indru
– Lim Mei Fen as piano teacher in Da Capo
– Candy Ice as Miss Chen in Murdered
“Each year, the BMW Shorties continues to grow from strength to strength and is now considered a much anticipated event in the Malaysian arts calendar. Past winners of the competition have gone on to achieve significant successes in their professional careers and more and more Malaysians continue to appreciate the value of the short film art form as a means of creative expression. All of us at BMW Group Malaysia wait in keen anticipation for the final results of the BMW Shorties 2012 competition to be announced on the 20th of December.” Ambi added.
The judging panel for the competition this year too had much to say about the quality of the entries of this year’s competition.
“I am grateful to BMW Group Malaysia for having me onboard as a member of the jury this year. The entries to this year’s BMW Shorties were from a diverse mix of film makers with numerous ideas and approaches and demonstrate that the Malaysian short film making scene is indeed very lively.” said Mr. Dain Said, who was a member of the official jury for BMW Shorties 2012.
Fellow judge Lina Tan, a two time veteran to judging the BMW Shorties added that there were strong improvements to the overall quality of submissions which made for a very tough decision making process.
“Deliberations between the judges this year proved to be intense with the five of us spending more than 6 hours in non-stop debate. Having said that, we believe that the short films which we’ve selected for awards as well as the BMW Shorties Grand Prize are fully deserving of recognition and hopefully will set the standard for other film makers to emulate in future.” said Tan
The official jury for the BMW Shorties 2012 also included celebrated starlet Miss Diana Danielle as well as professional film makers and former winners of the BMW Shorties, Mr. Shanjey Kumar Perumal and Miss Chen Yih Wen.
With the BMW Shorties 2012 finalists now unveiled, members of the public are invited to watch and vote for their favourite short film at the BMW Shorties website (www.bmwshorties.com.my) to determine the recipient of the People’s Choice Award, which commences from 24 November 2012 to 7 December 2012.
The full list of award winners as well as recipient of the RM75,000 BMW Shorties Grand Prize will be revealed at the BMW Shorties 2012 Gala Premiere which will be held on the 20th of December 2012 at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.
To find out more about BMW Shorties, visit the BMW Shorties website or BMW Shorties Facebook page at (www.facebook.com/bmwshorties).
