Tanam Padi - SeaShorts Film Festival 2023

Make a difference for the young filmmakers in our industry! 

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Titled ‘Tanam Padi,’ meaning planting rice in Malay, this edition of the Festival aims to take stock of the Festival at its 7th edition to examine how the short film ecosystem has evolved since the Festival’s founding in 2017 and to celebrate the different filmmakers that have come through our doors. Recognising the centrality of rice to South/East Asian cultures and communities, we imagine the act of seeding and growing regional filmmakers as akin to rice-planting: we build communities of filmmakers, and feed audiences with the future of cinema in South/East Asia.

Programmes

Opening Programme 
Re:View - When Is Southeast Asia?
‘Re:view: When is Southeast Asia’ reflects on how Southeast Asian identities have been shaped through contemplations on time and history. Featuring works that probe at different ways of imagining Southeast Asia’s diverse and occasionally contested heritages and futures, this programme proposes that Southeast Asia is as much a physical location as it is a state of mind.

SeaShorts Competition Retrospective 1
SeaShorts Competition Retrospective 2

The program highlights 8 significant regional films from SeaShorts' competition archive, now considered classics in Southeast Asian short film history. It emphasizes the impact made by these filmmakers, showcasing SeaShorts' dedication to nurturing emerging storytellers and representing diverse voices in the region's cinema landscape.

Malaysian Films at NextNewWave Retrospective 1
Malaysian Films at NextNewWave Retrospective 2

The program showcases key Malaysian short films previously screened at SeaShorts, envisioning a contemporary short film history of Malaysia. Spotlighting the media practitioners that are and will shape the national film landscape to come, this programme entwines Malaysia’s future cinema with SeaShorts’ core mission.

Heatseeker - Malaysian Student Films Showcase 1
Heatseeker - Malaysian Student Films Showcase 2

Heatseeker showcases 11 short films by students and graduates from 7 Malaysian film institutions. It's part of an initiative to redefine Malaysian cinema, focusing on grassroots filmmaking and community involvement, aiming to imagine a new narrative and cinematic ethos deeply rooted in local culture and history.

Sharing Session: Crowdfunding PENDATANG (2023)

PENDATANG (2024) by Kuman Pictures is an upcoming dtystopian thriller set in a racially segregated Malaysia. It is the only Malaysian feature film to be successfully financed entirely through crowdfunding, as almost 600 people gave a total of over RM400,000 to get it made. Join the co-producer Amir Muhammad and director Ken Kin as they talk about the process of crowdfunding and filmmaking. This session will be useful for people who seek alternate means of funding. When funding is varied, stories too can be varied. A short preview comprising the first act of PENDATANG will also be shown.

Symposium 1
Heatseeker Roundtable: Film Educators Forum

This forum comprises of film educators in Malaysia whose students' films are featured in SeaShorts' Heatseeker Student Film Showcase. Moderated by a former film student, the panel will explore the stories that the film education scene in Malaysia nurtures, and the ever evolving issues that comes with media education and film literacy. 

Symposium 2
A Time for Self / A Time for Others: Moving Image Research

This panel features a selection of interdisciplinary research on  the moving image by students enrolled in the Art and Visual Culture Program at Universiti Malaya. The panel will interrogate the ideas and concepts of time in relation to representations of collective selves and otherness. 

Closing Programme
Re:view - When is Malaysia?

Re:View - When Is Malaysia aims to feature short films that directly or indirectly explore how we navigate the complexities of Malaysian identity. When is Malaysia? When are we considered Malaysian? How would our films express it?