Two M’sian Primary School Students Snatch Best Film Award On Bidayuh Culture At Film Festival In Brazil

By Charmaine Shaharin  •  15 Dec 2020 in News

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Winning an award at a film festival is a big deal, and it’s a bigger deal when the brains behind the plot are created by primary school students from a small town.

Recently, two standard five students, Macgres Sawet and Nabiatul Dania Zulfiqa Mohd Zulfadhli, from Sekolah Kebangsaan Temong in Serian, Sarawak have won best film by Popular Jury in the primary school category at the Festival De Cinema Escola De Alvorada (FECEA) or Alvorada International Schools Film Festival held in Brazil.

With the help of their teachers, Wan Zulfadli Ad-Dinnie Wan Azmi and Mohd Reduan Patah, the two students had produced a short film Titled Batuh Bijanji, which means The Promised stones in Bidayuh dialect.

The story revolves around two friends Bibi and Sarah, who are voiced by Nabiatul and Macgres. The two friends meet when one of them is going through a rough patch in their life.

As reported by Bernama in The Star, the whole process of this film took 10 days and was done using the rotoscoping technique usually done by aspiring illustrators on the path to becoming animators.

Ever since the success of the film, it has definitely gained the attention from viewers including Sarawak Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who complimented the storyline for being beautiful, as it highlights the young generation and close friendships.

Macgres and Nabiatul definitely have unadulterated talent, and just like Abdul Karim, JUICE hopes that these students will continue to make more films together to inspire others, especially the youths of our generation.