‘Murdered’ by Chua Dick Woei was announced as the winner of the 6th edition of the annual BMW Shorties Short Film competition. His winning entry emerged ahead of 91 other submissions to receive the annual BMW Shorties Grand Prize in the form of an RM 75,000 production grant.
Chosen by a distinguished panel of judges comprising of renowned producer Lina Tan, acclaimed feature film director Dain Said, celebrated actress Diana Danielle as well as professional film makers and former BMW Shorties winners Shanjey Kumar and Chen Yih Wen, the film ‘Murdered’, 15-minute short based on the experiences of a scriptwriter’s unconventional path to the creative process was also the first short film in the history of the BMW Shorties competition to also be nominated and awarded six of the supporting award categories including Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Sound Engineering and also the Best Actor Award for the performance of the short film’s lead actor, Lee Yee Han.
“We have been waiting for this opportunity since the first time we heard about the BMW Shorties in 2006 and we’re delighted that our hard work has paid off! This is a true honour for us and we are definitely excited about the possibility of going to the next level with the help and assistance of BMW Group Malaysia,” said Chua.
According to jury member Mr. Dain Said, the number of entries to this year’s competition was proof that the spirit of independent film making was alive and well in Malaysia, with participants creating shorts based on a host of subject matter, topics and views in their interpretation of the competition’s theme of ‘Possibilities’.
Mr. Said said, “It is encouraging to see that so many Malaysians have taken up the challenge to express themselves through the medium of short film, a medium which so often encourages us to reflect on who we are collectively as a society and as individuals. With Chua’s ‘Murdered’, we have a film maker who has taken film making to a level beyond simple entertainment and who has used his talents in film making to create a work of art which is worthy of recognition and appreciation.”
Fellow jury member Miss Diana Danielle also conveyed her support for the BMW Shorties and expressed her hope that more Malaysians would also take up the film making challenge.
“I was pleased to see that the entries to the BMW Shorties this year came from Malaysians of all walks of life, be they professional or amateur film makers. It was clear to me that beyond the idea of simply winning the competition, many Malaysians wanted to express their thoughts and ideas regarding important issues in their everyday lives and the BMW Shorties has become a platform through which they’ve been able to do so. I hope that all of this year’s participants will appreciate that they are all winners, regardless of the ‘official’ competition results.” said Miss Danielle.
Aside from “Murdered’s” stunning sweepstake at the awards night, the BMW Shorties 2012 jury also awarded “Muthal Naal Indru”, a short film by Jagatesh Lechumanan, a special ‘Honourable Mention’ award for its portrayal of the life of a young prostitute played by Jaya Ganason who also received this year’s award for Best Actress.
According to jury member Miss Lina Tan, “Muthal Naal Indru’ was an exceptionally well made short film which very cleverly combined the use of sound, immaculate editing, excellent script composition and a compelling performance by its actors to capture human emotions which the audience could readily appreciate. It was a great short film which all of us on the official jury panel agreed deserved a special mention and we hope that Jagatesh will continue to pursue film making in the time to come.”
Completing this year’s line-up of awards was M. Suresh for the short film ‘Das’ which was the recipient of the People’s Choice Award, an award category selected entirely through public voting via the BMW Shorties website (www.bmwshorties.com.my). The over five minute long short film discusses the consequences of a school boy who discovers a gun and the accidently shoots a pregnant lady at a night market.
The full lists of award winners for the BMW Shorties 2012 are:
Grand Prize Award
Chua Dick Woei for ‘Murdered’
People’s Choice Award
M. Suresh for ‘Das’
Best Screenplay Award
Chua Dick Woei for ‘Murdered’
Best Sound Design Award
Michelle Lee for ‘Murdered’
Best Actor Award
Lee Yee Han as Bak Long in ‘Murdered’
Best Actress Award
Jaya Ganason as the younger female in ‘Muthal Naal Indru’
Best Cinematography Award
Jordan Chiam for ‘Murdered’
Best Editing Award
Chua Dick Woei for ‘Murdered’
Best Production Design Award
Koh Chong Cheng for ‘Murdered’
Entries for the BMW Shorties 2012 top 10 finalists’ as well as nominees for other supporting award categories can be viewed online at the BMW Shorties website (www.bmwshorties.com.my). More information regarding Malaysia’s most prestigious short film competition can also be found on the BMW Shorties Facebook page at (http://www.facebook.com/BMWShorties).
