KUCHING: The Asean International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) has become a platform that brings together film ideas and the film business community, capitalizing on the huge potential market within the ASEAN population.
Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts of Sarawak (MTCP), stated that the films produced at AIFFA can extend beyond ASEAN, effectively promoting Sarawak for tourism.
“I encourage filmmakers to consider Sarawak as a film location due to its unique, natural studios and diverse range of cultures and harmonious communities. Our beautiful Sarawak offers much more for exploration, as attested by our delegates,” he said.
He further elaborated that the Sarawak Film Collective (SFC) will collaborate with the Malindo Film Fund (MFF) to identify eligible recipients for the film fund in Sarawak and Borneo as a whole.
“I am pleased that our industry players are actively involved in developing creative and artistic resources in Sarawak,” he added.
During the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony for AIFFA2023 Film Biz-World at the Old Court House in Kuching today (August 3), Deputy Minister of MTCP Datuk Snowdan Lawan read the minister’s speech.
In a separate press conference, Snowdan proposed the inclusion of two new categories in the next AIFFA: animation and documentary (short and feature length).
“These categories aim to cater to the younger audience, considering the abundance of talented young documentary and animation makers who create exceptional artworks,” Snowdan expressed.
Deputy Minister of MTCP Datuk Sebastian Ting, Executive Director of AIFFA 2023 Jaffri Osman, and other distinguished guests were also present at the ceremony.
