Bringing Southeast Asian cinema to the fore, the annual Seashorts Film Festival is returning
online this August 25 to September 2 with cinematic and cultural programs, exclusively on seashorts.org.
Seashorts aims to showcase Southeast Asia’s stories and culture through the lens of emerging
filmmaking talents and cinema from the region. This year’s festival goers can look forward to a wide
range of curated programmes including forums, workshops, and masterclasses. These programmes will
be taught and facilitated by esteemed filmmakers from all over Southeast Asia, and in partnership with
Golden Harvest Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and Image Forum.
Apart from the programmes to look forward to, 20 shortlisted films out of 438 submissions from 8
countries will be chosen as contenders for the SeaShorts Award. Lending their prowess, the 2021 jury
who will be choosing the winning film includes producer and film festival programmer Raymond
Phathanavirangoon (Thailand), producer Meiske Taurisia (Indonesia), director Phan Dang Di (Vietnam) ,
playwright and poet Alfian Sa’at (Singapore), and artist and illustrator Sonny Liew (Malaysia/Singapore).
The lucky winner will be taking home awards sponsored by brands like Aputure, Zoom, and Deity, as well
as a cash prize from Da Huang Pictures.
“Despite the ongoing pandemic, Southeast Asian shorts still manage to thrive, with many of the
works selected at SeaShorts having come from some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals,” said
jury member Raymond Phathanavirangoon. “That said, SeaShorts has also been the place to discover
new, previously unsung talents, and those are exactly what I am looking forward to discovering this year.”
“Southeast Asia is a region of such diversity and complexity, and I have always felt that short
films offer us an invaluable glimpse into the lives of our neighbours. They are entries in both an
encyclopedia and a family album—capable of both producing knowledge and fostering intimacies,”
added fellow jury member Alfian Sa’at.
This year’s Seashorts Film Festival is made possible with the support of The Japan Foundation,
Kuala Lumpur (JFKL), Da Huang Pictures, Sinema, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia,
Ministry of Culture of Taiwan (Republic of China), Yayasan Sime Darby, Alliance Française de Kuala
Lumpur and Embassy of France in Malaysia.
Festival passes will be available for purchase through this link. For more information on this year’s
Seashorts Film Festival, visit their website seashorts.org or facebook.com/seashortsmy.
About SeaShorts Film Festival
The SeaShorts Film Festival is an annual celebration of Southeast Asian short film, comprising screenings,
forums, workshops, exhibitions, and other creative endeavours from guests across the region. Founded by
award-winning filmmaker Tan Chui Mui in 2017, it has grown into a permanent fixture on the calendars of
cinema professionals and enthusiasts alike.
Since its inaugural edition, SeaShorts has showcased more than 420 short films and travelled to three
different cities in Malaysia. Among the names that have been members of the competition jury include Lav
Diaz (Philippines), Rithy Panh (Cambodia), Philip Cheah (Singapore), Pimpaka Towira (Thailand), Mira
Lesmana (Indonesia), and Sharifah Amani (Malaysia).
The Festival is the annual marquee event of the SeaShorts Film Society, officially registered in Malaysia in
2019.