A shadow puppet (wayang) workshop by the Sekolah Main Wayang collective, which returns to the stage at SeaShorts 2025 with an Orang Asli folk tale performed by Semai youth. Photo: Fairuz Sulaiman
If you haven’t been travelling much this year, let the SeaShorts Film Festival 2025 be your passport to stories from across the nation and the region.
This year’s edition – happening at Golden Screen Cinemas Lalaport BBCC (on Jalan Hang Tuah, KL) and YWCA Kuala Lumpur (12, Jalan Hang Jebat) from Oct 16–19 – features a special live theatre collaboration with community arts group Sekolah Main Wayang, bringing indigenous Semai youth from Bota, Perak to the festival stage in a celebration of their Orang Asli heritage and creativity.
The 30-minute show Chemor Mai Pasak (Ruai), or The Legend Of The Elders (Spirit) – developed by theatre director Ayam Fared and multimedia artist Fairuz Sulaiman, and performed by 13 Semai teenagers – will be staged at YWCA Kuala Lumpur on Oct 16 at 8pm.
This year, the Sekolah Main Wayang members took part in the lively Awas Mawas! puppet parade and presented exhibitions at GMBB and Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.
It’s also been an inspiring year for Tamil arts projects, marked by milestones like Araro Ariraro – a moving documentary reviving forgotten Tamil folk songs from Malaysia’s plantation communities.
Building on this momentum, Beyond Indian Shores, a SeaShorts programme introduced last year, returns to explore the presence (and absence) of the South Asian diaspora in contemporary Malaysian visual culture. This year’s edition – at GSC Lalaport on Oct 19 at 4.20pm – presents a curated selection of Tamil cinema from both Malaysia and Sri Lanka, highlighting shared histories and creative intersections.
The programme is curated by Gogularaajan Rajendra and Lena Srinivasan, Malaysians deeply engaged with Tamil cinema both locally and internationally.
Gogularaajan is one of the curators of Beyond Indian Shores, a programme spotlighting Tamil short films from Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Photo: Om Sakthi Films
Making its SeaShorts debut is "Nusantara Focus", a cinematic voyage across Indonesia’s sprawling archipelago – from Aceh to North Kalimantan, Sumbawa to Timika-Papua, and into the bustling heart of Jakarta.
These films – in collaboration with Eagle Institute Indonesia – reveal the diverse voices and visions emerging from the islands, each capturing a different rhythm of life across the region.Nusantara Focus will take place at GSC Lalaport on Oct 16 at 7pm.
'Through the cracks'
Over the years, the SeaShorts Film Festival – now in its ninth edition – has grown into one of the region's most vital platforms for short films, bringing together bold new filmmakers, seasoned industry professionals, and passionate audiences. It has become a four-day celebration of the short form that is as inspiring as it is unmissable.
The theme for this year, “Through The Cracks,” reflects the shifting cultural and social landscapes of the region.
"Stories came thick and fast again this year, with hundreds of short film submissions. Here, on the cusp of 10th anniversary, we are excited to explore cultural dialogues across borders and art forms, which we hope will expand to artistic expressions anchored in film," says veteran filmmaker Dain Said, the festival director.
From a record 703 submissions across 11 Asean countries, 40 titles have been selected to compete in three categories: the SeaShorts Competition, Malaysian Open Competition, and Malaysian Student Competition. It marks the festival’s strongest line-up to date, with the highest number of entries coming from Indonesia and the Philippines.
A screen grab from 'Garamku Tak Asin Lagi' by Indonesian filmmakers Azhari and Jamaluddin Phonna, featured in Nusantara Focus. Photo: Eagle Institute Indonesia
The jury for the main SeaShorts Competition comprises South-East Asian arts and film scene practitioners, including Jo Kukathas from Malaysia, Sofia Setyorini from Indonesia, Vess Chua from Singapore, and Yustinus Kristianto from Indonesia.
On the home front, the Malaysian Open Competition will also feature 15 works by Malaysian filmmakers and films made in Malaysia, offering a robust showcase of the country’s diverse voices, stories, and cinematic styles.
"The theme, Through The Cracks, emerged not from comfort, but from necessity. The ground shifts beneath our feet – politically, economically, morally – and the walls around us rise ever higher," says Eddy Tan, programme director.
"From censorship to shrinking spaces, from algorithmic flattening of culture to the rightward drift of power, the landscape feels increasingly enclosed. Yet cinema, especially the short form, has always found its way through – leaking, seeping, whispering across divides," he adds.
The busy halls ahead
In addition to the competition sections, the SeaShorts festival will present six special programmes. Shorts+ celebrates the work of female filmmakers and cinematographers from South-East Asia, while Beyond Indian Shores focuses on contemporary Tamil short films.
Heatseeker Malaysia highlights emerging Malaysian student filmmakers, while Heatseeker Japan presents Japanese student films in collaboration with The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, which has supported SeaShorts since 2017.
On the home front, the Malaysian Open Competition presents 15 films showcasing the nation’s diverse voices and stories. Photo: SeaShorts
JAFF Picks, held in partnership with the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF), will feature a special focus on Asian filmmakers. SeaShorts 2025 will also feature a series of forums, workshops, and masterclasses designed to deepen the cinematic experience.
The "Actor’s Roundtable: Breaking Barriers in Malaysian Cinema" will feature actors Amanda Ang, Susan Lankester, Fatimah Abu Bakar, Yuyun Hikmah, and Sharifah Amani, who will reflect on their craft and the challenges they have faced throughout their careers.
The session "Sun-J Perumal: Malaysian Tamil Narrative, Nusantara Nuance" will feature filmmaker Shanjey Perumal, director of the award-winning Jagat and the upcoming Macai (out this November), who will explore the bold and poetic world of his short films.
The "Producer-Director Roundtable: Beyond Collaboration" will bring together Tan Cher Kian and Putri Purnama Sugua, creators of Di Sini Aku (2019), for a conversation about the creative sparks and struggles that arise when producers and directors work closely together.
Finally, the "Masterclass: Cut & Paste", featuring experienced and award-winning editors Soo Mun Thye and Isazaly Mohd Isa, will offer insights into the art and challenges of editing, and what it takes to shape a story in the editing room.
Both festival venues – Golden Screen Cinemas Lalaport BBCC and YWCA Kuala Lumpur – are within walking distance of each other, making it easy for festivalgoers to move between screenings and live events.
Festival passes are now available on CloudJoi, with a special discount for students, while the full SeaShorts 2025 programme is available on its social media channels.
