Malaysians shine at short film contest award event held in Beijing

A group photo of winners, judges and guests at the Scam Prevention Short Film Contest Awards Ceremony in Beijing. Photo: Handout

Several aspiring Malaysian filmmakers’ works on increasing awareness on scam prevention through short films were picked as winners at an event held in Beijing, China.

Scam Prevention Short Film Contest, co-organised by Malaysia's SunStrong Entertainment and China's Horizon Corporate Volunteer Consultancy (HCVC) in November 2022, awarded a total of US$128,000 (RM590,656) to 20 winning entries out of 88 received in two categories.

According to a press statement by the organisers, the winning entries will be made available on major social media platforms and the SunStrong Entertainment’s website.

It added that the hope is for “these works to continue playing a role in preventing scams”.

In the Student Category, the first prize of US$5,000 (RM23,073) went to A Forever Promise from China, which portrays a young graduate falling victim to a job scam.

The second prize of US$3,000 (RM13,844) was awarded to Got Trapped from Malaysia, while the third prize of US$1,500 (RM6,922) went to Sink from Malaysia.

The Excellence Award of US$500 (RM2,307) was given to seven films, including Malaysia's The Distant Job, Got Trapped, The Untouchable Sight, Catherine's Love Story, and Anti-Fraud Operation, as well as China's The Naked Price and If.

In the Open Category, Help from China, a film about a phone scam victim, won the first prize of US$50,000 (RM230,725).

Bad Days from Malaysia secured the second prize of US$20,000 (RM92,290), and Scripted also from Malaysia took the third place, winning US$10,000 (RM46,145).

Additionally, it was all Malaysian entries that won Excellence Award in the Open Category, namely Putih Hati, Love Chess, I'm Here For You, Susan, Money Tree, Bungkam and Desire. Each title received US$5,000 (RM23,073) of the prize money.

Winners in the Open Category also have the opportunity to submit their film proposals to SunStrong Entertainment for a chance to receive a grant of up to US$1mil (RM4.6mil) to produce a feature film.

The judges, including Golden Horse Award-winning Malaysian filmmaker Chong Keat Aun and Oscar-winning Chinese-American documentary filmmaker Ruby Yang, praised the creative storytelling and resources used within the 10-minute time frame.

Jment Lim, founder of SunStrong Entertainment and a judge on the panel, said: "These works not only showcase the creativity and talent of the contestants, but also reveal society's concern about the prevalence of scams and its dedication to public welfare."