We continue our list of short films you shouldn’t miss at the SeaShorts Film Festival (Malaysia), which is taking place Online from September 12th – 20th (2020).

About the festival:
The SeaShorts Film Festival was originally founded by award-winning filmmaker Tan Chui Mui in 2017 as an event to screen Southeast Asian short films and it has since grown into a notable regional film event. In its past three editions, it has been held in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Malacca, in Malaysia. With a programme of handpicked and curated short films, as well as forums and masterclasses, it showcases Southeast Asia’s stories and emerging filmmaking talents by bringing together the arts and cultural community from the region. It is also a platform for regional exchange and learning, talent recognition, networking and collaboration.

You can get your festival pass for only $ 10 USD here: http://festival.seashorts.org

Selected Films:

Ah Fei, a Vietnamese who left home to work in Taiwan, escapes from his Taiwanese employer in hopes to earn more money to send back home to his father. One day, he runs into Ah Hai, a police patrol officer, at the beach. Ah Hai sees Ah Fei in possession of syringes and uses the baton on him without giving him a chance to explain. By the beach, nine shots were eventually fired at Ah Fei. It’s the first time Ah Fei’s father is travelling out of Vietnam, only to be bringing home his son’s lifeless body.

Available:
September 13th, 12:00 pm – September 20th, 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

A 1950s showbiz star, trapped inside a television, crashes down to earth. A frightened but probing indigenous farmer saves her. Deep into the night, the two try their best to engage each other. But glitches, language differences, and the offensive political incorrectness of 1950s TV all get in the way.

Available:
September 13th, 10:00 am until September 14th, 10:00 am (GMT +8)
September 19th, 12:00 am until September 19th, 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

On a street corner a mysterious conversation among three young men at a street stalls. Meanwhile a traffic accident on a motorbike. The night brings together a sketch, a multicolor frame of reality​.

Available:
September 13th (Sunday) 10:00 am until September 14th (Monday) 10:00 am (GMT +8)
September 19th (Saturday) 12:00 am until September 19th (Saturday) 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

When uniform high-rise government housing began sprouting up in newly-independent Singapore, a young and idealistic architect Tan Cheng Siong aims to bring the “kampong spirit” back into the city sky with the Pearl Bank Apartments, only to be faced with struggles he never imagined. Inspired by true events.

Available:
September 13th, 6:45 pm until September 14th, 6:45 pm (GMT +8)
September 19th, 12:00 am until September 19th, 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

In Taiwan, five runaway migrant workers from Southeast Asia work illegally on a high-mountain tea farm. They become “family” for they were on the same boat. After one of them dies with his savings gone, the trust among the other four people broke down.

Available:
September 13th (Sunday) 4:15 pm until September 20th (Sunday) 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

When her grandfather becomes terminally ill, Xiao Le, a young Christian woman, faces a critical decision over whether she should intervene with her family’s Taoist rituals. Driven by a desire to save his soul, she begins secretly praying by his bedside. When her mother discovers her deceit, she is devastated.

Available:
September 13th, 9:00 pm until September 14th, 9:00 pm (GMT +8)
September 19th, 12:00 am until September 19th, 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

Minh lives in a village where every child is born with a tree on their heads, except for him. On graduation day, students who have turned 18 will get their tree cut to signify adulthood. Problems arise when Minh’s sister decides to keep hers.

Available:
September 16th (Wednesday) 8:00 pm until September 17th (Thursday) 8:00 pm (GMT +8)
September 19th (Saturday) 12:00 am until September 19th (Saturday) 11:50 pm (GMT +8)

‘The Slums’ is a mockumentary that follows a documentary team as they terrorise a poor family living in the urban slums of Manila. The film features the colourful lives of the Reyes family: Nayda, the family’s loving mother with body image issues; Julio, the hardworking but not very bright father; Oliver, the fabulous son who wants to be a supermodel; Boy, the youngest and naughtiest child; and Pam, the feisty eldest child of the family.

Available:
September 13th, 9:00 pm until September 14th, 9:00 pm (GMT +8)
September 19th, 12:00 am until September 19th, 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

Years of destruction to the rich, ancestral land, culture, and relationships in Nueva Vizcaya by a large-scale foreign mining company has divided the people, but has also summoned the collective strength of the mountains and the community to rise up. The Didipio community of Twali-Ifugao indigenous people put their stakes in setting up a barricade and risk to continue the fight for their life, honor, and land.

Available:
September 15th (Tuesday) 8:00 pm until September 16th (Wednesday) 8:00 pm (GMT +8)
September 19th (Saturday) 12:00 am until September 19th (Saturday) 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

Waiting for an old friend’s phone call, the lonesome Uncle Goose has not left home for days. But when food runs out, Uncle Goose decides to go to literal great lengths in order to keep the telephone by his side! Whatever it takes to be in time to pick up that call, because a promise is a promise.

Available:
September 18th (Friday) 8:00 pm until September 19th (Saturday) 11:59 pm (GMT +8)

To see the first part of this article please go here: PART 1

To know more about the festival and the programme please visit the official website: https://seashorts.org/