Local and foreign student filmmakers awarded at Taylor’s University Film Festival

When Taylor’s invited us to their Taylor’s University Film Festival (TUFF) media screening, we were still under the impression that student films were stilted dialogue filmed on someone’s borrowed camcorder (yes this writer went to college in the early 2000’s). But 6 minutes into the screening at MBO cinemas later, we were eating our words along with the complimentary popcorn.

What we watched were 10 short films, documentaries, and animation from local and international universities and colleges; and despite them being individual segments, we had to tahan kencing because each one caught our attention enough to watch till the end. We found out later that 85 submissions were sent in this year, which the TUFF judges scored in the weeks beforehand.  So yea, you could say they had to make some….. tuff decisions.

TUFF is open to submissions from any college or university

One of our favorite pieces (and a big winner from the festival) was 9 Gods: The Unknown Connection, a documentary exploring a link between Taoism and Hinduism through similarities between the Taoist Nine Emperor Gods festival and the Hindu Navatari festival. The research, cinematography, and interviews were *chef’s kiss* 🤌. We heard that the director wasn’t from Taylor’s, and a quick Google shows that he’s a UOW alumni.

We pointed that last part out to reiterate that TUFF is open to all students and new graduates. Because, in it’s third year running, TUFF was meant to provide an additional platform to encourage students as well as aspiring and emerging filmmakers to showcase their filmmaking artistry. According to Prema Ponnudurai, Head of the School of Media and Communication:

“Films are part of the fabric of our society as it is a reflection of our cultural and socio economic environment and has the power to influence societal beliefs and practices. Hence an integral part of our students’ journey, our aim in organising TUFF is to nurture young practitioners in the fields of film, media and communication and award excellence and creativity in filmmaking.”

Alongside submissions from local creators and universities, this year’s entries also included international submissions from countries such as  Indonesia, Japan, China, India, Australia, Belgium, and the United States. Along with film screenings, the week-long festival also includes collaborative workshops with industry partners such as Adobe, BMW Shorties, and Canon – specifically on the latest developments and digital equipment that are commercially used in film productions.

In the end, a total of 24 awards in various categories were presented to local and international winners by adjunct professor Hassan Muthalib, the ‘Father of Malaysian Animation,’ and renowned local film industry practitioners such as Finas chairman Datuk Kamil Othman.

So if you’re an aspiring filmmaker looking for a platform to showcase your work, TUFF 2024 should be taking submissions at some point, just sayin’.

The students were the unsung heroes of the competition

One thing that caught our eye was how the event was pretty much run by the students of Taylor’s School of Media and Communication. They were manning the media booth, taking event photographs, and there was even a hilarious moment where a student manning the photography lights turned out to be a winner herself.

When we pointed this out to Prema, she says it’s part of Taylor’s efforts to introduce purpose-led learning, giving students an opportunity to take on tasks outside of their curriculum and picking up skills or lessons that may not be taught in a classroom. And looking at how smoothly the students ran the show, all we can say is… when the going gets TUFF, the TUFF gets going.