SeaShorts 2019: Moderators, Film Forum People, and More

Megan Currently Head of the Foundation programme at Multimedia University’s Faculty of Cinematic Arts, Megan is also an artist and filmmaker with a background in film editing. Her debut animation, “Libertas”, was awarded Best Screenplay at the 2011 Indonesian Film Festival and shortlisted for Best Animated Short at AFI Fest. In 2017, she premiered her first live-action short, “Woman at Home”, at the SEOUL International Women’s Film Festival.

Panel Topic: What is the Role of Government Policy in the Film Industry?
Panel Member: Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri (Malaysia), Cynthia Chong (Singapore), & Ria Anne Rubia (Philippines)

Prof Gaik is a film academician, she also organises the Association for Southeast Asian Cinemas Conference since its inception in 2004.

Panel Topic: New Platform for Film Distribution
Panel Member: Ho Hock Doong (Malaysia), Chia Yee Wei (Singapore), Tony Pietra Arjuna (Malaysia) & Nandita Solomon (Malaysia)

Ghazi is an independent filmmaker with more than 50 short films and two feature films under his belt. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from film.factory, an intensive programme created by Hungarian director Béla Tarr.

Panel Topic: What is the Future of South East Asian Cinema?
Panel Member: Marcus Mạnh Cường Vũ (Vietnam), Helene Ouvrard (Laos), Francis Oggs Cruz (Philippines), & Thaid Dhi (Myanmar)

With more than 20 years’ experience dedicated to Southeast Asian cinema at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Gertjan currently takes his talents as a programmer at film festivals across the region of his expertise.

Panel Topic: Night Bells: A Panel Discussion of the Film Installations
Panel Member: Lav Diaz (Philippines), Shireen Seno (Philippines), & Sherman Ong (Malaysia)

Ho recently joined MUBI as Director of Content for Southeast Asia. He had previously been the Senior Assistant Vice President at Astro, where he performed film acquisition for theatrical releases as well as for the A-List and Boo channels. During his stint, he commissioned two omnibus films, “Doors: A Philippine Horror Anthology” and “Love Me, Tease Me”.

Film Forum: New Platform for Film Distribution

An award-winning director, writer, and producer, Yee Wei is the founder of Mocha Chai Laboratories and A Little Seed, an authorised Apple iTunes aggregator. A Little Seed enables distributors, independent producers, and filmmakers to put their films onto digital platforms like Apple iTunes and Amazon for sale.

Film Forum: New Platform for Film Distribution

Graduating from Emerson College in Boston and moving to Malaysia, Tony started as a TVC editor before honing his directorial craft with a variety of long/short-form efforts. He made his theatrical debuts with two anthology films: The FFM-nominated dramedy Cuak and CollabFeature’s Train Station, which won awards at international and US festivals. Three co-directing projects followed: Safari Mall, Red Storm (a martial arts actioner) and The Dark Eye (a genre-bending ode to classic horror). Shadowplay is an indie neo-noir that marks Tony’s first “solo” feature; a micro-budget pastiche of 80’s cinema and David Lynch. On the heels of its completion, Tony continued as a director and showrunner on Devoted, a cult-themed drama/thriller series for streaming network Viu. With his “third culture” background and obsession with Gen X nostalgia and grindhouse movies, Tony aims to establish a signature in his work that is drawn from his Indonesian-Malaysian heritage and American influences.

Film Forum: New Platform for Film Distribution

Film Forum: New Platform for Film Distribution

A programmer and filmmaker based in Vietnam, he was previously the festival director at YxineFF – Yxine Film Fest from 2010 to 2014.

Film Forum: What is the Future of South East Asian Cinema?

Having made Laos her home since 2008, Helene currently works in the country’s cultural sector. In 2011, she joined the Vientianale organising team and now runs the international film festival as co-director. She has curated Lao-centric programmes for various festivals to promote emerging local filmmakers.

Film Forum: What is the Future of South East Asian Cinema?

Francis is a film writer whose byline has appeared in such media as Rappler, The Philippine Star, Rogue magazine, and Businessworld. He has also served as member and jury alike at various film festivals.

Film Forum: What is the Future of South East Asian Cinema?

An independent film producer, Thaid Dhi is also co-founder and programme director at Wathann Filmfest.

Film Forum: What is the Future of South East Asian Cinema?

Ahmad Idham having started his acting career at TV3 in 1994, Ahmad has since been involved in more than 40 films in multiple roles in front of and behind the camera. In 2002, he founded a film production studio named Excellent Pictures Sdn Bhd, winning best director awards at Anugerah Skrin and Malaysian Film Festival the following year. 2014 saw the establishment of the Ahmad Idham Film Academy @AIFA in Johor. In 2019, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS Malaysia).

Film Forum: What is the Role of Government Policy in the Film Industry?

Cynthia currently serves as Deputy Director at the Singapore Film Commission, a division under the Infocomm Media Development Authority – IMDA. In her role, she oversees film industry development programmes in nurturing, supporting, and promoting homegrown talent in filmmaking as well as showcasing their works to audiences locally and abroad.

Film Forum: What is the Role of Government Policy in the Film Industry?

Ria is currently the Officer-in-Charge Executive Director at the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Prior to her role, she served as the deputy of the digital media group that handles the online public relations of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority before becoming the Officer-in-Charge. In 2014, her portfolio included being the project manager of the New Wave section at the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Film Forum: What is the Role of Government Policy in the Film Industry?

A keen proponent of the slow cinema movement, Lav has established a name for some of the longest narrative films on record. Catapulting to international fame with the 2013 release of “Norte, the End of History”, his works have garnered such recognition as the Locarno Golden Leopard, Venice Golden Lion, and Alfred Bauer Prize.

Film Forum: Night Bells: A Panel Discussion of the Film Installations

Shireen is an artist and filmmaker who has exhibited at various galleries locally and abroad. In 2012, her debut film “Big Boy” screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and named Best First Film at the Festival de Cine Lima Independiente the following year. Her next film project, “Nervous Translation”, was one of 15 projects of Venice Biennale College – Cinema, was a recipient of a Script & Project Development grant from the Hubert Bals Fund, and participated in IFP’s No Borders International Co-Production Market.

Film Forum: Night Bells: A Panel Discussion of the Film Installations

Malacca born and bred, Sherman works at the intersection of film, photography, and the visual arts. Winner of the 2015 Prudential Eye Awards for Photography and the 2010 ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu Photography Award, Sherman has premiered pieces at art biennales, major film festivals, and museums around the world.

Film Forum: Night Bells: A Panel Discussion of the Film Installations

In addition to his position at Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab, Dew Napattaloong is a filmmaker and producer based in Bangkok. His 2015 short film, “Motherland”, premiered at the Austin Film Festival before making its way to Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Salento International Film Festival, and Thai Short Film and Video Festival, among others. 2019 saw him produce Nontawat Numbenchapol’s documentary, “Soil Without Land”, which debuted at Visions du Réel Film Festival, as well as co-programme the SAC ASEAN Film Festival.

Speaker at Creating Dossiers for International Applications

In addition to his position at Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab, Dew Napattaloong is a filmmaker and producer based in Bangkok. His 2015 short film, “Motherland”, premiered at the Austin Film Festival before making its way to Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Salento International Film Festival, and Thai Short Film and Video Festival, among others. 2019 saw him produce Nontawat Numbenchapol’s documentary, “Soil Without Land”, which debuted at Visions du Réel Film Festival, as well as co-programme the SAC ASEAN Film Festival.

Speaker at Creating Dossiers for International Applications

Aceh Film Festival

I am actively involved in forums and communities about film. As a founder of Aceh Documentary Foundation, and Festival Director of Aceh Film Festival.

Aceh Film Festival

He is one of the alumni of the 2014 Aceh Documentary Competition scholarship program. Akbar is a film programmer at the Aceh Film Festival and a program manager in alternative film screenings, Aceh Menonton.

Programmer Manager
Singapore International Film Festival

Programme Director (2014-2018) for Taipei Film Festival. Dedicated to showcasing new talent and discovering new development in the film world. She developed new programmes such as In Progress: VR and Produire au Sud Taipei.

Film Festival Programmer
Women’s Film Festival Elles Tournent

Sinta Wibowo (Brussels/Phnom Penh) works as a festival organizer, cultural strategist, scout and more, in the field of film, performing arts, visual arts & transdisciplinary, in West & East-Europe as well in East & South-East Asia.

National Gallery Singapore

Silke Schmickl is a curator at National Gallery Singapore and was formerly the co-founding director of Lowave, a Paris/Singapore based curatorial platform and publishing house for film and video art.

Media
SINdie

Jeremy is the founder of SINdie and has been running it for 11 years. Prior to this, he has been an independent filmmaker. Little known to many, he balances his film activities with a full-time career in public relations.

Media
Edipresse Media

Videographer and Content Creator for MalaysiaTatler.com

Media
SINdie

Theatre and visual arts background, writer with in the wild and online publications such as SINdie and Popspoken.

Film Critic
EasternKicks

A passionate and curious writer who has written pieces for websites about travel, culture and lifestyle. Also known as a knowledge sponge and a wanderlust traveler.

Film Critic

I frequently cooperates with film festivals and cultural foundations in Taiwan. Include: Taiwan International Documentary Festival, Taipei Film Festival, and Taoyuan Film Festival as programmer. I also works as a freelance writer and editor.

Film Critic
PONY WORLD

Film critic from Taiwan. She worked as program assistant and editor assistant in 21st Taipei Film Festival, also she has presented lots of media to report international film festival. Currently she is director of Taiwan Film Critics Society.

Film Critic
UNIMAS

MJ Samaroon born and raised in the city of Johor. Since 2009, he has worked as a director for independent short films, documentaries, and Film Scholar. He divides his time between Kuala Lumpur and in Kuching, where he is based.

Journalist
The Blue Specs 蓝视角