Running a film festival can be a challenging task to handle.

This is particularly true after the pandemic struck as it has

inevitably compromised existing approach in organising arts

and cultural events throughout the world. While there is little

sign that COVID-19 will cease its grip at the time of writing,

film festival organisers have to adapt, re-strategize and reinvent

their approach to keep themselves abreast with the changes

Yow, Chong Lee

Unimas Institutional Repository

IDEAPHORIAFaculty of Applied and Creative ArtsVol. 2 June 2021faca.unimas.myDEAN’S MessageThe IDEAPHORIA has a signicant meaning to us as it serves as a biographical sketch show-casing the achievements of our lecturers and students through the activities from various elds in 2021.In the rst half of the 2021 issue, we would like to highlight the impact of the events organized by the faculty, such as the Faculty Strategic Plan 2021-2025, where the faculty management team shared the ve-year plan. The faculty has also organized international webinar series; a platform for scholars from abroad and local to share knowledge.  The pandemic has challenged and forced us to be innovative in continuing educational delivery fully online. Although students were allowed to be on campus, we decided to shift our classes into online learning mode with alternative assessments. In doing so, we hope our lecturers and students will embrace the current predicament positively. I would like to express my appreciation to the editorial team for their hard work in compiling the second issue of IDEAPHORIA. Last but not least, I wish everyone good health, happiness, and success in your endeavour. Regards,Assoc. Prof. Dr. Musdi Shanat FACA e-Bulletin IDEAPHORIA is published twice a year (June and December) and the first volume was published in December 2020. The articles published in IDEAPHORIA are primarily focused on news, events and activities organized by the Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts (FACA), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).  The theme of IDEAPHORIA represents the lecturers' creative endeavours at the Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts locally and internationally. It is also a platform that highlights the projects, diverse in nature and interdisciplinary, forming collaboration within the academic community in UNIMAS with the industry experts. IDEAPHORIA celebrates the creative minds and innovative efforts by FACA scholars at through shared insights and inspiration across the creative borders, by connecting with brilliant minds in materializing great ideas. Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our e-Bulletin committee members for their continuous cooperation.  I am fortunate to be supported by a highly efficient team. FACA e-Bulletin IDEAPHORIA is a property of FACA family, and I hope this upward momentum will be maintained in publishing quality articles in future. Thank you and happy reading! Dr. Loh Ngiik Hoon Chief Editor'sMessage Associate Professor Dr. Musdi bin Hj ShanatADVISOREDITORSGRAPHIC DESIGNERDr Ahmad Azaini bin Abdul Manaf  Dr Qistina Donna Lee AbdullahChief Editor Dr Loh Ngiik Hoon Managing DirectorMs Natasha binti Rusdy WongMr Amir Hassan bin Mohd ShahMr Yasir Hasyim bin BujangWeb MasterMr Denny bin PonDr Nur Qasdina Jeeta Binti Abdullah  Madam Syarafina Binti Abdullah Mr Aliffazraie bin Jali  Mr Ringah anak Kanyan FACA eBULLETINCommittee MembersCurating Regional Film Related Events:Tackling Both Global and Local Audiences, SimultaneouslyBy ChongLee, Yow (clyow@unimas.my)Running a film festival can be a challenging task to handle. This is particularly true after the pandemic struck as it has inevitably compromised existing approach in organising arts and cultural events throughout the world. While there is little sign that COVID-19 will cease its grip at the time of writing, film festival organisers have to adapt, re-strategize and reinvent their approach to keep themselves abreast with the changes.The longest running short film festival in Malaysia, Mini Film Festival is entering its 17th edition this year, with its theme “In Time of Crisis” as a reflection to the critical time of humanity stifled by the         pandemic and climate disasters. Not to mention the widening inequality between the rich and the poor as well as increasingly worrying maltreatment towards the marginalised and vulnerable groups. These crises are certainly in need of our dire attention andactions. In addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the marginalised groups, the Secretary-General António Guterres of United Nations pointed out that “women, children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced, all pay the highest price in conflicts and are also most at risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19” (Department of Global Communication, United Nation,2020). In line with that, and realising the fact that film - just like other arts and cultural products - plays a pivotal role in bringing positive change in the society, the 17th Mini Film Festival is filled with film events that attempt to address some, if not all, the issues at stake.  Its first online screening “Duduk dan Tonton”, in collaboration with its long-time partner, SeaShorts Film Festival had received more than 350 audience registrations to watch a series of carefully curated Southeast Asian (SEA) short films. Its Facebook’s live discussion with three (3) filmmakers in relation to its theme “SEAriously, Women on Screen” had then garnered approximately of 1200 views online. By highlighting female (or gender neutral) protagonists who go against all odds in their everyday’s struggle, this screening attempted to bring awareness to inequality andempowerment to women. (See Figure 1, 2 and 3)Two weeks after the online film screening, there was a MFF webinar to address a timely issue “Post-COVID19 Films Consumption: Then, Now and the Future”. By inviting four industry experts hailed from diverse media industry backgrounds, i.e. film festival (Mr. Ifa Isfansyah, the festival   director of Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival), TV (Mr. Suhaimi Sulaiman, CEO of TVS), OTT platform (Ms. Juliana Low, Head of Contents Acquisition and Programming) and cinema (Mr. Sharmine Ishak, Public Relations and Branding Manager of GSC), this webinar provided insights to audience particularly filmmakers and content creators who wish to produce contents that could potentially get across contemporary audiences post-pan-demic. The inspiration in organising webinar focus-ing on such topic was partly inspired by media research which demonstrated that media        consumption taste has shifted due to long hours of people staying at home and having no access to the cinema during the pandemic. (The Trade Desk, 2020) (Figure 1 & 2: Posters for Duduk dan Tonton organised on 15 April, 8.30pm (GMT+8))(Figure 3: Snapshot of online discussion with filmmakers broadcasted live on Mini Film Festival’s Facebook)REFERENCES:Department of Global Communication (2020, March 24). UN working to ensure vulnerable groups not left behind in COVID-19 response. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communication-team/un-working-ensure-vulnerable-groups-not-left-behind-covid-19The Trade Desk (2020). The future of TV: A report of the state of OTT in Southeast Asia.https://pages.thetradedesk.com/rs/527-INM-364/images/SEA_OTTReport_2020.pdf  (Figure 5: Snapshot of MFF Webinar 1 broadcasted through FB Live with approximately 2,300 views)(See Figure 4 and 5)There is no hold back to prevent the students, my colleague and I to run these meaning and impactful film related events addressing timely issues while bring forward a public sphere for discussion and film             appreciation. With the motto “Mini in Scale, Big in     Ambition”, the events organised under Mini Film Festival have reached audiences and filmmakers across   Southeast Asia. In fact, there are a series of online film screenings/ discussion and webinars which are           tentatively in the pipeline running every fortnightly from April until July, when a week-long festival week will be      closing the festival this year.On behalf of the organising team, I would like to sincerely thank all students, colleagues and our          collaborators for making all the events possible. Should you wish to submit your films and look forward to join any upcoming events organised by Mini Film Festival, please visit https://linktr.ee/minifilmfestival. *Yow Chong Lee is a film lecturer at Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Apart from teaching, researching and making films, he curates for several film festivals and programmes in Southeast Asia, including the longest running short film festival in Malaysia, Mini Film Festival.(Figure 4: Poster of MFF Webinar 1 organised on 29 April 2021 featuring four panellists hailed from diverse media industry background)

Curating Regional Film Related Events: Tackling Both Global and Local Audiences, Simultaneously

http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36573/1/Yow%20Chong%20Lee.pdf

Curating Regional Film Related Events: Tackling Both Global and Local Audiences, Simultaneously

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