Friday December 5, 2008
Pitching for success
By SHEELA CHANDRAN
Students from higher learning institutes recently participated in the Super Pitch competition during the Sixth Malaysian Students Film and Video Festival.
OK, your script is ready and you have prepared it to the best of your ability. Next comes pitching your story to movie executives, producers and directors with the hope they will buy your idea and make a movie out of it. Unless you are a good story teller who can present a strong enough story that’s a cut above the rest, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Understanding the importance of pitching, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) recently organised the first-ever “Super Pitch” (SP) competition which saw budding filmmakers from higher learning institutes pitching ideas for the Perdana Awards, a category under the Sixth Malaysian Students Film and Video Festival (SMSFVF). The festival takes place at the varsity from Jan 8-10.
Finalists of the Perdana Awards at the Sixth Malaysian Students Film and Video Festival The Perdana Awards are divided into two sub-categories – film/short video and documentary. The university received over 100 entries for film/short video and 69 for documentary categories, respectively. From there, 25 and 15 entries were shortlisted for both categories respectively.
The festival, held since 2003, aims to produce more professionals in the field. Opened to students of higher learning institutes, the university began receiving entries for both categories since September. Another category under SMSFVF is the Creation Awards which comprises ready made footages.
Jury chairman Dr Muhamad Sham Shahkat Ali said the purpose of the SP was to enable students to understand the initial procedures involved in creating films or documentaries.
“In the real word, everyone needs to pitch their ideas. Through the competition, the finalists got a feel of the importance of pitching,” said Muhamad Sham after a press conference to announce the SP finalists in UPM, Serdang, recently.
At the event, held at the university premises earlier this month, short-listed candidates challenged each other before a panel of judges, comprising Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Professor Madya Dr Asiah Sarji, TV3 producer/announcer Zainal Ariffin Ismail, documentary producer Zaki Abdul Rahim, Primeworks’ manager Shahila Harun Shah, Malaysian Film Workers Association president Syed Mohammad Hassan Benyahya and Radio 24’s editor Letfee Ahmad.
After a gruelling session, the judges selected five finalists for the film/short video category. They included Let’s Play A Game (Universiti Lim Kok Wing), Rewind (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), Aidan Damia (Universiti Teknologi Mara Melaka), Mengintai Kasih (Akademi Seni Budaya & Warisan Kebangsaan) and Kasih Mastura (UPM).
Finalists for the documentary category were Witty Wings (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), Nabi Palsu (Universiti Teknologi Mara Melaka), Autisme (UPM), Cenuai (Akademi Seni Budaya & Warisan Kebangsaan) and Tagal Sungai Moroli Ranau (Universiti Malaysia Sabah).
According to Muhamad Sham, entries were selected based on synopsis, story line, theme, character description and film location. Finalists for the short video/film and documentary categories each received a RM2,500 and RM2,000 allowance, respectively, to realise their scripts.
“The entries were satisfactory. Through the SP, we narrowed the entries down to five that will compete in the respective categories,” said Muhamad Sham, adding finalists were expected to conclude filming their 30-minute productions by Dec 13.
Prizes would be presented to recipients of various sub-categories, including best short video, best documentary, best director and best editing.
Rewind director Gareth Chin Fui Hian, 22, expressed his joy at being selected as one of the finalists for the competition. The third-year broadcasting student revealed his short video was about domestic violence.
“Domestic violence has many forms, such as physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and intimidation. Most of the time, it goes unreported as spouses find it less pervasive than it really is. There is a need to highlight the issue as it is illegal and may lead to criminal violence,” said Chin, who is working with four course-mates on the project.
> For more information, browse www.sinemamalaysia.com.my.
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