Sabah Film Academy, KKIFF 2015 – participants working with international mentors, Marcus Vetter and Jacques Comets
The KKIFF 2015 promises to be the best film festival yet. We have positioned ourselves as a significant film festival in the ASEAN region to build up, nurture and present young talented film directors. The KKIFF will be held from 31 May – 11 June 2015.
The KKIFF continues to be co-organised by SEDIA and SPArKS, in collaboration with the Elysee Fund (through the Goethe-Institute Malaysia and the Alliance Francaise) and the Embassy of the USA.
We are calling for applications for the Sabah Film Academy which will take place from 31 May-7 June. The 10 selected Malaysia participants will work in two teams with four mentors from Germany, France, the USA and the ASEAN region. In the month before they come to KK, the two teams will work on pre-production of their 10-minute documentaries with their mentors and each other. Once in KK, everyone will finalise pre-production arrangements and attend workshops with the mentors. Then they will go out and shoot their documentaries, edit them and screen them at Awards Night on Sunday, 7 June. This is an exciting opportunity for young filmmakers. Applications close on 30 April.
We are also calling for applications for the Sabah Pitching Training & Awards programme on 5-6 June. Anyone within the ASEAN region can apply with a new documentary film project. These can be feature-length (60 minutes plus) or shorts (up to 15 minutes). The 10 selected projects can be represented at the KKIFF by two people each who will receive training in making pitches before pitching to a panel who will award RM20,000 in grants to help get three of the projects started. Applications close on 30 April.
In addition to these two wonderful opportunities, the KKIFF is calling for film submissions for 2015. Firstly, the Rolling10 Filmmakers’ Competition is open to anyone. The theme is: ROLLING and the movies are to be up to 10 minutes long. There are three categories for submissions: documentary, narrative and indigenous language. All submissions will be uploaded onto the KKIFF website. The deadline for submissions is 30 April.
We are also looking for submissions for the DOCS+ screenings at the KKIFF 2015. DOCS+ is a platform for filmmakers in the ASEAN region to screen recently completed works, both feature-length and shorts, including documentaries and other types of movies. Submissions close on 15 March (for information to be included in the KKIFF programme booklet) and 30 April.
The KKIFF 2015 is fortunate to have sponsors coming forward for the various awards that are part of the festival. The Sabah Film Academy has two awards of RM1000 each that are being sponsored by the Sabah Cultural Board. The Rolling10 Filmmakers’ Competition has three Golden Kinabalu Awards, one each for documentary, narrative and indigenous language. The Golden Kinabalu Awards for documentary and narrative are being sponsored by Kopi Cap Kuda, together with cash prizes of RM2000. The Golden Kinabalu Award for Indigenous Language is being sponsored by the Kadazandusun Language Foundation and will also come with a cash prize of RM2000.
Information about these four opportunities for filmmakers can be found on the KKIFF website: www.kkiff.com.
Rowena Sachez (Philippines) receiving award from Nick Deocampo at Sabah Pitching Forum, KKIFF 2015
Jared Abdul-Rahman, Director, whose film ‘A Step in the Right Direction’ was screened at DOCS+, KKIFF 2014
