Monash-UPV Film Festival

Written by Paolo Javier
Photographs by Sarah Chong

     With over 90 visitors in attendance, the Monash-UPV Film Festival paved the way as the introduction  of Filipino youth to the diverse world of filmmaking. The event opened the eyes of the youth to the intricate Malaysian independent short film community. The Monash-UPV Film Festival kicked off at the UPV Cinematheque at 5pm on the 20th of January 2013. Breaking the local's usual Sunday evening routine, the film festival had the Cinematheque filled up to its full capacity of 70 people, making it the most illustrious event in the history of the UPV Cinematheque.

     The film festival had a line up of 5 short films which were all about imperative human issues. The students were really eager to be part of the festival and had expected to indulge in many new concepts from Malaysian cinematography. The festival began with a movie about a tale of trust between two strangers entitled “Majidee”. The movie had set a good benchmark as it was unlike anything the audience had ever seen before. The movie, directed by Azharr Rudin, lasted for 15 minutes and focused on the main character walking along the streets of  central Kuala Lumpur. The second movie depicted a time in Malaysia when Vietnamese had fled to their country for shelter. The 10 minute movie by Tan Chui Mui was also screened at the 59^th Locarno International Film Festival and 35^th Rotterdam International Film Festival. 

     The next movie was the shortest movie presented but was the crowd favorite. The movie made close to 10 years ago amazed the Filipino youth with its mere narrations and photo presentations. The movie “Checkpoint" directed by Amir Muhammad ran for seven minutes. The last two films shown were directed and written by Monash University Sunway Campus students Sheril A. Bustaman and Lestari Hairul as part of Monash's Origins: Omnibus Film Project under the guidance of the Filmmaker-in-Residence Mr Azharr Rudin. The two films were titled “I Am” and “Cassandra” respectively, the former being 30 minutes in duration and the latter 10 minutes. The short film "I Am" told the tale of a fresh high school graduate Amirah Mei Ling Muhammad Lee who in search of her true identity went on a journey to find her birth parents, only to discover that where a person comes from is somewhere else entirely. "Cassandra" told the story of a lonely librarian whom in search of a purpose in her life discovers one over ChatRoulette.

"Awesome", "amazing", "funny", "terrific", "entertaining", and "truly wonderful", were some of the rave responses that the film festival received from the audience. “I was really excited and was so shocked! I can’t actually believe that I can be entertained by such short films”, said Czarina, an enthusiastic BS Accountancy student who had arrived 30 minutes early to get a good seat. Hazel, a BSBA Marketing student even said that the film festival had made a large impact upon her life, cultural wise. “The films were so expressive they could be considered a form of art”, she added.

     This international film festival which was the first of its kind served as a golden opportunity for the UPV students. The student directors from Monash even shared a few useful pointers for the aspiring UPV filmmakers. Sheril, the director of “I Am”, suggested that students be very particularly about certain aspects of pre-production, such as getting a good team for the production, suitable casting, good preparation and checking over everything before the start of the shoot and also good prioritizing. Lestari, the director of "Cassandra" and also producer of "I Am" added that students should always live in the moment and prepare for the unexpected. This film festival left the students comparing the independent film scene in their motherland with the one in Malaysia as described by the two student directors, and with much encouragement, it is a hope that more Filipino students, particularly from the UPV, would venture into film making as well.


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Paolo is a first year Marketing student of the University of the Philippines Visayas. He likes watching all sorts of movies but doesn't like reading books.