The first Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) Sabah was held at the Rainforest Discovery Centre Auditorium and BALIN Roof Garden Bistro, NAK Hotel on 29th to 31st July 2011.
Supported by EcoKnights, the founders of the Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival, the Borneo Eco Film Fest is a free community-service event that aims to increase public understanding of environmental issues through the power of film and visual media.
Borneo Eco Film Fest
During the Borneo Eco Film Fest, the public will be treated to eye-opening film screenings, interactive workshops, insightful talks and exciting musical performances during this educational and fun-filled event.
Thought-provoking and influential films from Sabah and around the world will be featured including Trek Through Borneo (Malaysia), The Seasmiths (Malaysia), Saving Planet Earth: Oceans (UK/Malaysia), Honey Hunters (Malaysia)and GREEN (Indonesia), just to name a few.
Supported by EcoKnights, the founders of the Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival, the Borneo Eco Film Fest is a free community-service event that aims to increase public understanding of environmental issues through the power of film and visual media.
Borneo Eco Film Fest
During the Borneo Eco Film Fest, the public will be treated to eye-opening film screenings, interactive workshops, insightful talks and exciting musical performances during this educational and fun-filled event.
Thought-provoking and influential films from Sabah and around the world will be featured including Trek Through Borneo (Malaysia), The Seasmiths (Malaysia), Saving Planet Earth: Oceans (UK/Malaysia), Honey Hunters (Malaysia)and GREEN (Indonesia), just to name a few.
Environmental experts and international award-winning filmmakers will also be lending their talents by conducting interactive workshops and talks.
The esteemed lineup includes Chris Chong Chan Fui, a Sabahan filmmaker whose debut film, Karaoke, was premiered at the 2009 Festival De Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.
Karaoke was also named the Best Feature film at the 2009 American Express Maverick prize in Canada.
Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) in Sepilok, Sabah
Also taking centre stage is Harun Rahman, founder of Novista, a leading documentary production company in Kuala Lumpur.
The highly-acclaimed documentary “Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh” produced by Novista was awarded the Best Wildlife Documentary at the 2010 Asian Television Awards and Best Wildlife Film at the 2010 Malaysia Documentary Film Festival.
South East Asia’s leading underwater filming and photography company, Scubazoo, will also be presenting.
The works of Scubazoo have been broadcasted on the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, CNN, and ITV. Other presentations of interest will be a workshop led by renowned Sabah wildlife photographer Cede Prudente, and a talk by the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) team.
The highly-acclaimed documentary “Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh” produced by Novista was awarded the Best Wildlife Documentary at the 2010 Asian Television Awards and Best Wildlife Film at the 2010 Malaysia Documentary Film Festival.
South East Asia’s leading underwater filming and photography company, Scubazoo, will also be presenting.
The works of Scubazoo have been broadcasted on the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, CNN, and ITV. Other presentations of interest will be a workshop led by renowned Sabah wildlife photographer Cede Prudente, and a talk by the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) team.
Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) from Borneo
Another unique feature of the Borneo Eco Film Fest (BEFF) is the Community Filmmaking Program led by the Global Diversity Foundation (GDF), an international NGO, along with Cypriot videographer, Inanc Tekguc.
Each year, BEFF invites a local community to participate in a community filmmaking training workshop that adapts filmmaking techniques specially for communities to make their own films based on the traditions, culture and issues surrounding the people.
This year, villagers from Sukau, Kinabatangan will participate in this unique programme as well as meet with all the international and local filmmaking talent on show at BEFF 2011.
Local and national artistes such as Roger Wang, Amir Yussof, Angelina Perete and Hezekiah Asim will also be performing during BEFF, which greatly supports the creative arts.
Borneo Eco Film Fest Information
Date: Around July
Venue: Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC) Sandakan, Sabah
Tickets: Register on official website
Tel: +60 88 218315/ +60 12 2071044 (Anton)
Email: borneoecofilmfestival@gmail.com
Website: Borneo Eco Film Fest
Tel: +60 88 218315/ +60 12 2071044 (Anton)
Email: borneoecofilmfestival@gmail.com
Website: Borneo Eco Film Fest
How to go to the Borneo Eco Film Fest in Sabah?
From Kota Kinabalu city, you need to fly into Sandakan, or take an overland bus here. There are also direct flights available from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan with Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia.
From Sandakan, you can take a bus, taxi or Grabcar to the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok, which is about 60 minutes drive. A map and details is found in this RDC Sabah Post.
From Sandakan, you can take a bus, taxi or Grabcar to the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok, which is about 60 minutes drive. A map and details is found in this RDC Sabah Post.
Conclusion
For those who are interested to attend this unique Eco film fest in Borneo, you should book ahead as there are quite a bit of people who will attend as well.
After successfully running this event for eight years, Sabah is proud to invite visitors from all over the world to attend the Borneo Eco Film Fest, which is truly one of a kind here.
After successfully running this event for eight years, Sabah is proud to invite visitors from all over the world to attend the Borneo Eco Film Fest, which is truly one of a kind here.