We present the winners of the SeaShorts Film Festival which took place from September 21 – 25, 2022 at the Multimedia University (MMU) Cyberjaya, Malaysia.

SeaShorts Competition

Best Film

Blinded by the Light is a two-channel video installation commissioned by Thai Film Archive in celebration of 124th anniversary of the birth of Thai cinema. The film aims to interrogate double- sided effects of how cinema itself has changed and developed through time, and how it affected both workers in film productions and its audiences along its journey. (SeaShorts 2022)

Jury Award

The story of my grandmother and her belief in God. Before breaking her leg, she always watched and believed in a famous online priest – he healed many people, then because of his popularity, the government asked him to move out of the church. After the accident, laid down and was depressed, my grandmother like other believers, would faith be lost when events occurred. (SeaShorts 2022)

Special Mention

The filmmaker and his younger brother filmed a wadi they describe as “windless” for being too quiet. With archives of footage and audio conversations, it recreates a lonely character contemplating to the deep muffled voices of the unseen real people; stillness of rocks to the unmoving conflict. The dialogues within the wordless exposé tackle traumatic memories as they become urgent stories relevant to both the past and the present. (SeaShorts 2022)

Next New Wave Competition

Best Film

Set in 1999, a Chinese village in southern part of Malaysia known as the mythical Elephant Village is visited by a group of Malay villagers. A freshly-in-love teenage Chinese boy and a teenage Malay girl find themselves entangled in intricate racial conflicts from the previous generations as the myth of this village unveils itself. (SeaShorts 2022)

Jury Award

Not knowing it’s the final three months for her dementia-ridden grandmother, a filmmaker records their daily interactions. Her intent gaze documents the grandmother’s physical changes and her belief that worms are living under her skin. After the passing, the filmmaker revisits her hometown in hopes of weaving reminiscences of their past memories. The unpleasant condition of the space confronts her with truths on ageing, change and mortality. (SeaShorts 2022)

Special Mention

A beloved horror actress questions the triviality of her career starring in Pontianak films, all the while being filmed by a group of documentary filmmakers. (SeaShorts 2022)

Malaysia Student Film Competition

Best Film

With the use of a phone recording and Google Maps found images, the film recreates the scene of two hit-and-run accidents that happened in 2020, and also ten years ago, 2010. By looking at the moment and trauma of losing a loved one, the piece looks into the validity of online/personal archival images, how images are uploaded, downloaded and stored digitally, memorized as well as forgotten in one’s head. (SeaShorts 2022)

Jury Award

The story is about a man that been trapped on a pineapple farm, only when he gains enough amounts of pineapples, he will able to leave the farm, but on the last day, the truck that is supposed to pick up the pineapples didn’t show up, as the protagonist is waiting for the truck, he is also reminded about why and how is he trapped in this god damn farm. (SeaShorts 2022)

Special Mention

Segar and Malar are a loving couple in their late 50’s living a calm life together. Been married for over 30 years and their children are living on their own. Amid their daily routine of work, play and meals, they ponder the uncertainties of a future without their grown-up. But what pulls this couple together every moment is the bond getting built through the years of their life. (SeaShorts 2022)

Cathayplay Chinese Film Competition

Best Film

In covid-plagued Singapore, people begin to fear reality and feel a growing sense of uncertainty. Plastic Sonata tells the story of three individuals as they face the global crisis, impending loneliness and their family. (SeaShorts 2022)

Special Mention

“Dear Father” is an experimental documentary, based on the theory of Generation Loss. It explores the memories between a father and son through voicemails, unsend letters and photographs of them together. (SeaShorts 2022)

Nottingham University AI Script Writing Competition

Aisle of Luck written by Pan Yong Ming & Inferkit AI Writing Software
Aisle Of Luck is about Todd, a teacher who wants to find a scriptwriting book he reads the day before in his dream. He lives a work-life balance lifestyle with 8 hours of work, me time and sleep. He drained out his luck, encountering a series of misfortunes in dealing with people while finding the books in the bookstores in his town. Until he met Kim, a nerdy young boy in the park. (SeaShorts 2022)