Borneo Eco Film Festival to showcase 18 films from around the world

KOTA KINABALU: The seventh edition of Borneo Eco Film Festival ( BEFF) will be screening 18 films from around the world on Sept 22-24 at Suria Sabah Shopping Mall in Sabah.

BEFF director Melissa Leong said among the participating countries besides Malaysia are United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, Myanmar, The Netherlands and Singapore.

Melissa said seven short films would be screened during the BEFF ‘ 365 Fringe Screening’ at selected locations around Sabah throughout the year.

“The three- day festival is an annual non- profit event celebrating Borneo’s biocultural diversity through showcasing environmental films and nurturing local community film making.

“During the festival, cinephiles are treated to Asian and Southeast Asian premieres of documentaries that highlight a variety of issues from elephant conservation to indigenous land rights,” she said at a press conference here yesterday, adding that all the film screenings were free to the public.

Melissa noted that one of the films that would touch the hearts of people in Sabah titled ‘ Mount Kinabalu — North Borneo 1961’ and produced by the UK Royal Society was filmed in 1961 on old film reels discovered in the Royal Society archives.

Some films highlighted insects as delicacies, how the fashion industry impacts the environment and how cats became an integral part of a city.

Besides the film- screenings, the festival would also feature educational talks, discussion panels, workshops and an Eco Art Carnival showcasing eco- themed art installations as well as an arts and crafts market.

In conjunction with the festival, BEFF organised the Suara community filmmaking programme with a series of film making workshops since March for the indigenous and local community, whose films would premiere on the final day ( Sept 24) of the festival.

Further information and updates on the festival are available at www. beff. org. my or on BEFF’s Facebook page. — Bernama