Announcing the competition at a special screening of the BMW Shorties at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Mr. Sashi Ambi, Corporate Communication Manager of BMW Group Malaysia said, “We at BMW Group Malaysia are very excited to introduce the BMW Shorties short film competition again this year. The competition was created to encourage the short film art form as well as to spur creativity in the Malaysian film community. Since the introduction of the competition, the BMW Shorties has discovered and supported six local Malaysian film makers and enabled them to explore and share their talent with the world.”
Ambi added that the theme for this year’s competition - ‘Possibilities’ was chosen to encourage budding film makers to further explore their creativity as well as to not limit themselves in the discovery of opportunities.
“The idea of ‘Possibilities’ enables us to not limit ourselves in the pursuit to better our state of being which is also one of the main philosophies in innovation. For BMW, the idea of the possible drives our innovation strategies of BMW EfficientDynamics and BMW ConnectedDrive which has led to the creation of industry leading technologies that have made the BMW Group the most dynamic car company in the world.” said Ambi.
In addition to providing first-hand insights into the world of film making and what goes on behind the scenes when making a short movie, the special screening of the BMW Shorties at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus also provided practical tips on film making to over 200 students and film enthusiasts who attended the event. Attendees were also given the privilege to catch a special screening of the previous winners of the BMW Shorties competition. Also screened was the exclusive preview of ‘Sid & Barry’, the much anticipated BMW supported short film by Quek Shio Chuan, winner of BMW Shorties 2011 ahead of its scheduled premiere in September.
Mr. Ismail Kamarul, Executive Producer of the BMW Shorties 2011 winning entry ‘Guang’ as well as the upcoming ‘Sid & Barry’, was also present at the event on behalf of Quek to promote the new short film. “The BMW Shorties has become an event that is eagerly anticipated by many in the local film making community. The short film competition is also the most holistic platform for budding film makers and it is a great platform for them to demonstrate their creative skills and talent to society, be it here in Malaysia or amongst our peers around the world.”
The BMW Shorties 2011 winning film ‘Guang’ has gone on to win numerous awards worldwide –The Best Film and Audience Choice at the 3rd Who Likes Short Shorts? Film Festival 2012 (USA), to the Best Film Alternative World and Golden Film in the 10th Irpen Film Festival 2012. His winning entry is still travelling the international film festival circuit and has been screened at some of the most reputable international film festivals.
As in previous years, BMW Shorties 2012 puts up for grabs a production grant worth RM 75,000 to enable the winner of the short film competition to make a professional short film which will be showcased both in Malaysia as well as at international film festivals throughout the world. Ancillary awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound Engineer as well as the ever popular People’s Choice Award will also be announced to celebrate the entire range of Malaysian short film making talent available.
“Six years on and we at BMW are confident that the BMW Shorties will continue to identify talented Malaysian film makers, who serve as ambassadors of our nations film making talent, to a world audience.” said Ambi.