KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — A short film about a friendship between a girl infected by a zombie bite and a carefree boy in a post-apocalyptic zombie-plagued Malaysia, Hawa, has emerged victorious in the BMW Shorties 2016, Malaysia’s longest running short film competition.
Apart from the Grand Prize Winner, the short film directed by 25-year-old Tan Ce Ding also took home the awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Sound Design.
Tan, who participated in the competition since 2010, said the symbolism of zombie outbreak used in Hawa could be interpreted as anything that threatened the bond between individuals.
“When the theme Journey was announced, we decided to pursue a short film which not only entertains but also shares the journey human relationships undergo, the threats it faces and its persistence to triumph in spite of.
“Just like the zombie pandemic which came between Hawa and Meng, ill-conceived ideas are like diseases infecting our society, posing risks to human relationships conceived out of goodwill,” he said, referring to the two main characters of Hawa.
Besides highlighting about the frailty of human relationships, Tan and his team wanted to remind the audience to appreciate and fight for the humanity within them.
“Inherently, we seek to bond with one another in spite of social issues threatening to separate us. And in the short film, we see just that in the persevering friendship between Hawa and Meng,” he said.
Tan will receive a production grant of RM 75,000 from BMW Group Malaysia, alongside guidance and mentorship from the panel of judges to produce his next professional short film. He has been placed in the Top 10 Finalist five times but has never won the competition until now.
BMW Group Malaysia managing director Han Sang Yun said the tenth edition of BMW Shorties has set a new milestone in proving that there is an abundance of film making potential in Malaysia.
“The BMW Shorties has coursed a great distance in discovering and supporting local filmmaking potential in Malaysia since we started a decade ago.
“Today, we are proud to have found and helped raise so many promising talent who have gone on to create value and a legacy in the Malaysian filmmaking and advertising industry,” he said.
12 films were shortlisted for this year’s competition, out of 115 films submitted, a new record in the number of submissions.
The full list of BMW Shorties 2016 award winners are:
Grand Prize Award
Hawa by Tan Ce Ding
People’s Choice Award
Aman Nak Besar by Affendi Azizan
Best Director Award
Tan Ce Ding for Hawa
Best Actor Award
Azman Hassan in Terus
Best Actress Award
Sukania Venugopal in Terminal
Best Cinematography Award
Iswandi Salim for Aman Nak Besar
Best Editing Award
Chan Kean Wah for Once See Fatt Cai (一見發財)
Best Screenplay Award
Tan Ce Ding & Andy Darrel Gomes for Hawa
Best Sound Design Award
Azrin Mohamad Noor for Hawa
Best Production Design Award
Aiman Hamzah for Terus
