| James Kon |
ABDUL Khabir bin Zainidi has given a further boost to Brunei’s standing in the creative industry, by winning the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF) top prize for his short film, Worm and the Widow, at the 22nd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) in South Korea, on July 17.
The awards were presented to outstanding projects, along with cash prizes.
This year, 16 projects were chosen for the NAFF section, out of 243 entries from 43 countries.
The Worm and the Widow, a story about outcasts who lean on each other to overcome social prejudices and pressures, won over the NAFF jury of veteran producers, including Producer of the 2016 action thriller Train to Busan Lee Dongha.
A Cambodia filmmaker, Sokyou Chea, was also awarded the Bucheon Award for his project, Soul Searching.
Abdul Khabir told the Bulletin, “The film is a fairy-tale about a boy called Ulot, and a widow who is treated as a witch. Both are outcasts.
“One day, they meet and work together to overcome numerous challenges.”
Meanwhile, the aspiring filmmaker has plans to use the prize money on further developing Worm and the Widow, which features the landscape around Bukit Udal and Pekan Tutong.
“It was given a daily screening at the festival,” he said.
“This is the first entry from Brunei, and they wanted a full film after I graduate from the Busan Asian Film School in October this year.
“The BiFan is a celebrated festival for film genres, so this is definitely a huge award for me.”