Kota Kinabalu: The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) is Borneo’s first and longest running film festival.

Starting in 2009, this is its eighth year. In the first year, in association with the French Embassy and the Alliance Francaise, they were known as the French Film Festival, screening three French films over three nights.

Since then, they have expanded in not just the number of films but also diverse programmes to increase the depth of the filmmaking culture in Sabah.

Last year, groups like Goethe Institut, Sedia, Alliance Francaise, NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute including embassies from the US, Romania, Georgia, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia also collaborated.

Five separate programmes were screened last year in addition to its international movie nights.

The Sabah Film Academy started in 2013 to provide a hands-on learning experience for teams of young filmmakers here.

The young moviemakers are led through the process of creating short film with the assistance of mentors in a variety of disciplines – from scriptwriting to screening.

Filmmaking can be an expensive art form and to help the young filmmakers connect with potential funders, KKIFF also runs the Sabah Pitching and Training Awards.

The two-day training event helps filmmakers pitch their movies at various stages of development. Last year, there were 12 documentary projects selected from the Asean region.

In 2011, the Sabah Film Forum was initiated and in five days KKIFF held workshops. It also included filmmakers competition and short film showcase.

DOCS+ was begun in 2014 and is set up to screen short and feature length documentaries from Asean.

The Rolling10 Filmmaker’s Competition attracted 35 entries in three categories. In particular interest to this writer was the indigenous language section of the competition.

There were numerous films made for this competition in Kadazan. Seeing the language of the people on the big screen brings a smile to the writer’s face.

This year looks to be an especially bumper year, with the launch of a new programme for July 10-17.

KKIFF will once again include the Sabah Film Academy.

Young Malaysians who want to be taught by a team of experienced international and Malaysian filmmakers should register by May 13 this year.

There will also be the Sabah Pitching and Training Awards with great cash prizes to be won.

The Rolling10 competition has been renamed the Action10 Filmmakers Competition. This year, there are prizes for up to 10-minute long films in three categories – documentary, narrative or indigenous language.

The KKIFF team is starting a new programme called “Cinebalu” to showcase regional directors from Asean and Korea.

There will be four nights of screenings on films made within the last two years.

Thanks to the KKIFF team, there were Malaysian Premieres, international speakers, numerous competitions and workshops and a small group of young filmmakers who benefited from the programme.

For example, “Living in the Drains” by Marcel Simok, made during the Sabah Film Academy in 2014 which won first prize for the Best Short Film at the Freedom Film Fest 2015.

The Visual Documentary Project at Kyoto University selected “Rapuh/Fragile” by Bebbra Mailin, made at the Sabah Film Academy in 2015, for screening at the end of March this year.

Embassies all over the world are sponsoring films and local firms are providing prizes. Kopi Cap Kuda is sponsoring the best overall Sabahan movie made in the Action10 category. The Kadazandusun Language Foundation is sponsoring a Kadazandusun Language film prize and JuiceSky are organising and sponsoring the People’s Award.

The KKIFF aims to give Sabahans the opportunity to see international and independent films they would not normally see and to showcase local filmmakers.

One of their aims is to turn it into a significant event in the Asean. For further details, visit www.kkiff.com.