KOTA KINABALU: This year’s Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) will be held online from Sept 9-13.Admitting it is a tough call to make, KKIFF Director Jude Day said it has to be done in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.“This is the 11th KKIFF and for the first time that the festival will screen its movies online, which we call Cinebalu Online,” she told the Daily Express, Saturday.
“It is a challenge for us to hold it virtually but being online, there are several pluses for the festival.“Firstly, the audience will be given the power of choice – they can opt to watch any movie from our programme anytime within the five-day festival.“Secondly, anyone from the Southeast Asian region can have access to the festival.”She said one of the main challenges was to assure the foreign embassies that the films from their countries of origin are secured.“We make sure the films are only accessible in the KKIFF official website and there will be no leaks as we have put in place a log-in security system,” she said.With a total of 21 movies available for viewing, participants will only need to make a minimal one-off payment to register for a KKIFF account as well as an access to the film collection.
Registration opens on Aug 20 at KKIFF.com.“The Cinebalu Online programme includes three short films by Sabahans and a variety of other shorts from Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia.“The Freedom Film Fest is also collaborating with the KKIFF and has contributed three shorts.”She added that there are also 11 feature-length films from around the world – Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Laos, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Portugal and Germany.“These include comedies, family dramas, true-life stories, supernatural thrillers and documentaries,” she said.KKIFF, she said, usually has discussions about movies and movie-making as an integral part of its annual event.“These are also going online this year through a series of webinars with interesting topics and well-known panellists, led by experienced moderators.”There will be five webinars throughout the festival, covering topics like environment, independent filmmaking, horror movies and indigenous cinema, among others.Two of the webinars will be in collaboration with the Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) and the Freedom Film Fest.All webinars, she said, will be free to view via YouTube and Facebook.For more information, contact Rendall at 0169497160 or Day (0143514298), or visit the official website.
Source: Daily Express
Date: 16th August 2020
Url: https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/157082/kkiff-to-go-online-this-year/
