BMW Group Malaysia introduces the judges and unveils the theme for Malaysia's most prestigious short film competition.

Kuala Lumpur, 8 August 2019 – BMW Group Malaysia today announced the 13th instalment of the BMW Shorties, Malaysia's most prestigious and longest running short film competition. 

"The BMW Shorties has discovered more than 900 talents for the film and digital content industry in the last 12 years. As Malaysia's most established and celebrated short film competition, the BMW Shorties will continue to provide emerging filmmakers and digital content creators with a platform to express their creativity once again this year. We are proud to be part of countless milestones achieved by the alumni the BMW Shorties has cultivated since 2006. With successes in the likes of Shanjey Kumar's 'Jagat', Quek Shio Chuan's 'Guang' and Zahir Omar's 'Fly By Night', we are excited to discover more talent from BMW Shorties 2019," said Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications, BMW Group Malaysia.

The theme for the 13th edition of the BMW Shorties is "UNCHARTED". The grand discovery and the celebration of pursuit, UNCHARTED symbolises the perfect combination of curiosity and tenacity.

"Our aim with UNCHARTED is to allow the creative minds of our nation the freedom to explore. When we first introduced the BMW Shorties 13 years ago, we had waded through uncharted waters to give an opportunity to local up-and-coming film talent when opportunity was not present. That unprecedented leap ahead by BMW Group Malaysia has and continues to elevate undiscovered filmmakers and digital content creators so that they may also chart new frontiers in the industry for the future," added Ambi.

This year's line-up of judges comprises of award-winning filmmakers and veterans of the local film industry. They include Saw Teong Hin (Puteri Gunung Ledang and Rise: Ini Kalilah); Indrani Kopal (The Game Changer and Incarcerated Rhythm), Amanda Nell Eu (Lagi Senang Jaga Sekandang Lembu), as well as panel advisers for the National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) – Nadira Ilana (The Silent Riot) and Adrian Teh (Ice Kacang Puppy Love and PASKAL The Movie).

"The BMW Shorties has provided an excellent platform to empower talents in this industry, and as such, a great number of quality content have come out of it. With this year's participants, I hope to see quality narrative, and I think it is important that they are not intimidated to tell their stories," said Indrani.

Sharing her sentiments, Amanda Nell Eu added, "I hope to see this year's participants take a lot of risks when it comes to narrative, style or genre; perhaps a retelling in a fresh perspective or a vision that is unexpected – a bold, new voice. The Malaysian film industry needs someone who is not afraid to be themselves and who will say things the way they want to say it."

Nadira shared, "Storytelling is a powerful tool that our generation of filmmakers today have the privilege to wield, so being vocal and unapologetic in the things they create is essential."

On the future of filmmaking in Malaysia, Saw said, "It is a very exciting time now for the film industry with a lot of new and talented voices and narratives. We definitely need to see more courage and determination from these new talents." To that, Adrian added, "We need talents to come in and work with us. You will never know what you can offer if you are watching from afar. If you think you have potential, start somewhere like the BMW Shorties – which provides an opportunity for you to lead your path into the industry. Let's see what you have got." 

The BMW Shorties 2019 will award the grand prize winner a production grant of RM 80,000. Recognition for filmmaking talent will also be awarded in an extensive range of supporting categories, including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Sound Design and the People's Choice Award, along with this year's new category for Best Student Award.

The BMW Shorties is open for entries from 8th August 2019 and aspiring filmmakers as well as digital content creators will have until 11th October 2019 at 6:00PM to submit their entries.

This year, the BMW Shorties will also be leading the film segment of Urbanscapes – Malaysia's longest-running creative arts festival. For further information on the BMW Shorties and how to participate, visit the official BMW Shorties website at www.bmwshorties.com.my or the official BMW Shorties Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bmwshorties and Instagram page at www.instagram.com/bmwshorties.