CinemaSHORT Asian ShortFilm Competition WRAP : Celebrating ShortFilms and Filmmakers
Launched 3 years ago, in 2020, CinemaSHORT was established as a service extension of CinemaWorld, specialising in Asian short films. Offering the best bite-sized stories by fresh talents while on-the-go, CinemaSHORT positions itself as the platform to bring these works to a wider global audience.
In 2023, we launched our first-ever CinemaSHORT Asian ShortFilm Competition, which garnered strong support from the Asian filmmaking community.
Our first-ever CinemaSHORT Asian ShortFilm Competition has been a journey in search of STORIES THAT TRANSCEND BORDERS. We had the privilege of witnessing the best storytelling talents in Asia. In celebration of the hard (but fun!) work of our CinemaWorld team and partners, let’s have a look back at the whirlwind of the past few months.
STORIES THAT TRANSCEND BORDERS
Our curation team hoped to receive submissions that break down barriers, whether they be physical, cultural, linguistic, or societal. In choosing our theme, we anticipated short stories that showcased the interconnectedness of our region, celebrating the shared human experience while also highlighting unique perspectives and voices from various corners of Asia.
OUR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AMBASSADORS
We are immensely grateful to our competition ambassadors who lent their voices and shared their support for the Asian filmmaking community. From commercial/ short film directors to established filmmakers, our international ambassadors shared earnestly about their experiences at every stage of their filmmaking journey. Thank you to all our passionate filmmakers for your encouragement to all our participants and budding filmmakers!
Catch our Competition Ambassadors sharing their words of wisdom here:
VOTING FOR AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
After over 3 months, the Preselection Committee received over 100 submissions from over 10 territories. The Committee was thoroughly impressed by the diversity of themes, styles, and perspectives captured in these short films which added a rich and dynamic dimension to the whole selection process. After days of intense watching and discussion sessions within the Committee, the final 15 shortlisted films were released. The shortlisted films were made available for viewing across the 4 streaming platforms of mewatch, Huawei Video, Cubmu, and Tonton. For 2 weeks, the filmmakers and film enthusiasts were hard at work raking in votes for their short film for the Audience Choice Award. In Singapore, we worked to bring these outstanding short films to our young audiences with our voting events held at The Mind Cafe and Yilin Likes Tea at NTU. In Vietnam, an online ‘Watch and Vote’ party was organised. Our guests, Quan Phuong Thanh, Nguyen Duc Manh & Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong (Omai), watched the shortlisted films and voted with fans.
FACEBOOK LIVESTREAM: WINNERS REVEAL
While the hype of the Audience Choice Award was ongoing, our panel of judges was busy picking the short film deserving of the Grand Prize, Second Prize and Jury Awards. With the results finally back, it was time for the Grand Reveal of our winners. On 14 September, CinemaSHORT hosted a livestream on Facebook and Instagram, hosted by CinemaWorld’s Chief Entertainment Officer, Suarina Chua, and producer/ CinemaSHORT Competition Judge, Josune Hahnheiser. The livestream was also joined by the prize winners from Vietnam and Indonesia.
The Grand Prize was awarded to The Cloud is Gone by Nguyen Viet Anh (Vietnam).
The Second Prize was awarded to Always Until Victory! by Deo Mahameru (Indonesia).
The Audience Choice Award was won by Inhuman by Hung Tran (Vietnam).
4 Jury Awards were also awarded to the following short films for their commendable effort:
Gossip by Adam Zainal (Malaysia)
Inhuman by Hung Tran (Vietnam)
Unexpected Passenger by Hsia Jui-Chien (Taiwan)
M.U.R.B.Y by Jonyl Tan (Singapore)
CINEMASHORT BY CINEMAWORLD ASIAN SHORTFILM AWARDS GALA NIGHT
With the first-ever winner of the CinemaSHORT Asian ShortFilm Competition hailing from Vietnam, CinemaWorld brought the win straight to Ho Chi Minh City on 1 November 2023. It was an exhilarating night for everyone as we gathered with a screening of the 6 winning short films which featured very different yet spectacular short stories, followed by an award ceremony. The event was graced by CinemaWorld’s Vietnamese distributor, MSky and Sri Lankan film director, Ilango Ram who shared his reflections about the winning short films and offered a word of encouragement to the filmmakers in the crowd. Our Audience Choice Award, Second Prize & Grand Prize winners delivered their winning speeches and received their awards from our special guests. The event’s impressive turnout highlighted the high quality of entertainment they provided to our audiences.
CLOSING REMARKS
In the first-ever CinemaSHORT Asian ShortFilm Competition, we witnessed narratives that tackled social issues, emotional health, and real-life experiences, thus fostering a sense of connection and empathy amongst our viewers. Needless to say, the submissions brought us great confidence and excitement to realise the great potential that Asian filmmakers possess.
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our judges (Josune Hahnheiser, Ilango Ram, Ryan Taufik & Genevieve Sarah Loh), our streaming partners, (mewatch, Huawei Video, Tonton & Cubmu), our Audience Voting partners (The Mind Cafe Singapore & Yilin Likes Tea), our equipment sponsor (Sachtler Systems) and our event partner from Vietnam (Spring Auteurs).
Last but not least, the shortfilm competition would not have been possible without the strong support from the filmmaking communities and audiences from around the world. We are thankful for every film submission and every vote.
In the coming months, CinemaSHORT by CinemaWorld remains invested in discovering new emerging filmmakers and witnessing their unique storytelling and cinematic styles across a range of themes, genres, and cultural viewpoints. We are confident that CinemaSHORT will grow alongside the rise of Asia to bring our films to all corners of the globe. Stay tuned to our Instagram, Tiktok & Youtube page for more short films by Asian filmmakers, as well as the next instalment of the CinemaSHORT Asian ShortFilm Competition. In true cinematic fashion, it’s a wrap!
Till next time.
Team CinemaWorld
