Tamil short film competition to showcase M’sian culture, history

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian aspiring filmmakers who aim to venture into the global trail of filmmaking are encouraged to showcase the uniqueness of Malaysian culture and history through Zee Tamil’s first-ever Tamil short film competition, ZEE REEL, which kick-started on October 28.

Malaysian film director Dr Vimala Perumal, who is one of the members of the international jury for the competition, said budding local filmmakers should ‘tell’ the many untold stories of Malaysia that might captivate the international jury.

“In this competition, there are judges comprising awardwinning filmmakers from India and Singapore and they might want to hear for themselves on the development of the diverse society, historical features, and significance of the Malaysian culture.

“This would be a golden opportunity for our local filmmakers to showcase their talent and be recognised internationally.

“Besides providing a good platform, this competition also contributes to improving the participants’ skills set through mastering the art of digital storytelling and enhancing their technological prowess,” she told Bernama in an exclusive interview, recently.

Dr Vimala, a senior lecturer from Multimedia University, said the participants would get to attend an elite workshop conducted by international filmmakers and will be assessed by a selected panel of jury.

Eight shortlisted entries will be showcased on the ZEE Tamil APAC channel, which gives them a substantial chance in staging their work on a reputable global television platform.

She said the top three winners of the competition will be given an opening to undergo an internship with acclaimed international directors – subject to terms and conditions.

“The competition would stand as a networking platform for the participants aiding them to reach a wider audience,” said Dr Vimala.

The film director said the registration for the competition is free and the deadline for the entries will be on Dec 20.

The competition is open to everyone from Malaysia and Singapore, and every short film entry must comply with the requirements – by not exceeding the duration time of 10 minutes, and assuring that 90 per cent of the content’s conversation is in Tamil.