Press Release: The KKIFF 2023 returns this September for its 14th year!

The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) starts its week-long festival with an Opening Night film from New Zealand called ‘WHINA’. The film, which will kick off the festival on 23^rd September, tells a story of a strong Māori woman who led her people to parliament to talk about indigenous land rights. It is based on the true story of Dame Whina Cooper.

‘WHINA’ is one of the 21 films selected for the 14^th edition of KKIFF. This year’s festival sees a great selection of short and full-length film genres from animation to fantasy, documentary to musical, comedy to psychological thriller and more. All of the films selected for the KKIFF come from all over South-East Asia, as well as New Zealand, Germany, and France.

The KKIFF is also very proud to feature two Sabah-made films; a short film called ‘Taken (Tinalangan)” directed by Jainie Jaibin’s, as well as a feature film called ‘MARIA’ directed by Ryot Ujin and stars Jovenea Jim, Amin Wali, Ixora Roselle and Jonny Damianus. ‘MARIA’ will be our Closing Night film on Saturday, 30^th September. This will be a great opportunity to meet the cast and crew, as well as ask them questions about the making of the film.

On Sunday, 24^th September, we have three talks about filmmaking which are free and open to everyone. The talks will be accompanied by short films and will be led by German filmmaker, Till Passow as well as Malaysian filmmakers, Aw See Wee and Edwin Raj. These talks and screenings will take place at Ibis Styles Hotel in Inanam, starting at 9.30am, and are part of the KKIFF filmmaking course, Sabah Film Lab.

Pick up the KKIFF Festival Guides from coffee shops around Kota Kinabalu or go to our website to purchase your movie tickets from 1^st September onwards. The KKIFF will be held at City Cineplex, City Mall Shopping Centre in Kota Kinabalu, starting at 8.00pm from Saturday, 23^rd September to Saturday, 30^th September 2023.

The KKIFF 2023 ends with the prestigious KKIFF Awards Night on Sunday, 1^st October, at the Grand Ballroom, Hilton Kota Kinabalu.  This event is free and open to everyone and includes screenings of the three winning films from the Go10 Filmmakers’ Competition, as well as the premiere for the short films made during the Sabah Film Lab.

The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) is grateful for sponsorship from the Chief Minister of Sabah, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Sabah, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah as well as the Sabah Tourism Board.