| Azlan Othman |
ASPIRING local filmmakers will soon have an opportunity to polish their skills and in turn produce materials worthy for exhibitions at international film festivals.
With the Brunei Film Blitz (BFB), local filmmakers can dig deeper in their understanding of the trade and hopefully produce better quality films, said Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Hajah Nurul Amal Munjiatul Athirah binti Pengiran Sura Negara Pengiran Anak Haji Bey Muntassir and Georgina Wong of Mahakarya Institute of Arts Asia on Thursday.
The BFB will be held from December 9 to 29 at the Mahakarya Institute of Arts Asia, 3rd floor, Plaza Athirah, Mile 1, Jalan Tutong.
The three-week event, as part of the Brunei December Festival, is filled with workshops and screenings that will enhance cinematic experiences to help filmmakers discover themselves.
Programmes include movie screenings from the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan, France, the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Indonesia from December 9 to 23 as well as workshops by Mark Shepherd from December 10 to 15. Shepherd is a content writing professor at the University of Southern California who had taught the likes of Shonda Rhimes of Grey’s Anatomy.
From December 17 to 20, power-up workshops will be held featuring ‘Directors’ DNA’, ‘Directing Performers from Screen’, ‘Talking Pictures’, ‘Understanding Short Films’, and ‘Filming on a Budget’.
Meanwhile from December 24 to 27, participants of the Brunei Film Blitz will be allotted 96 hours to shoot a three- to six-minute short film.
There will be a ‘secret ingredient’ on December 24 that marks the start of the 96 hours, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Hajah Nurul Amal Munjiatul Athirah said.
And on December 28, an ‘Australia Film Education Day’ (Open Day for Mahakarya Institute of Arts Asia) will be held while on December 29, the ‘Gala Awards’ will see juries decide on the winning films, which will be screened.
While the BFB is in its second installment, the Brunei December Festival is in its second year of a comeback.
This year’s month-long festival features 60 events in five different categories: Food Festival, Islamic Festival, Culture and Creative Arts, Sports and Adventure, and Recreation and Shopping to cater for both domestic and international visitors.