The festival, which celebrates the artistic prowess of Malaysia’s animation storytellers, will feature an exciting line-up of 14 homegrown animated shorts, as well as a new short film.
“This year, we are once again excited to present a diverse and thrilling line-up of homegrown animations, pushing the boundaries of storytelling and creativity.
“MAFF serves as a testament to the bright future of Malaysian cinema, and we look forward to continuing to support these talented filmmakers,” said Golden Screen Cinemas chief executive officer Koh Mei Lee.
MAFF 2024 is organised by cinema exhibitor Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) through its GSC International Screens efforts, in collaboration with the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) through its “Kre8tif” programme.
The festival invites audiences to enjoy entertaining animated shorts created by talented Malaysian directors, writers and animators, all told in different styles and mediums. Many of these have won awards both locally and internationally.
Some of the shorts will be funny, while others will be heartwarming: all, however, will leave you impressed with the quality of the country’s local creative talent.
MAFF 2024 will be shown at selected GSC outlets around the country, including GSC Mid Valley, GSC Gurney Plaza and GSC Suria KK.
The festival will also feature “Grimoire,” a new meta-narrative short film from director Jared Lee. Featuring a fictionalised, elderly version of Lee, the film serves as an introspective exploration of the transformative power of creativity.
“Grimoire” is slated to be an immersive journey through Lee’s past works, including Horologist, a groundbreaking piece that won the Best Animation prize at both the USA Film Festival and the San Diego Comic-Con Film Festival in 2023.
MAFF 2024’s line-up of films:
- “BIJI” by Chew Kin Lek: A young seed tries to express himself, despite his mother tree’s disapproval.
- “Borih, The Bidayuh Paddy Priestess” by Will K: A Bidayuh priestess suffers from a mysterious illness, and is aided by a spirit of the paddy field.
- “Dead Da” by Tan Hui Ci: A traditional Chinese medicine master is visited by a sinister creature on a mission.
- “Fish Memory” by Siti Sarah Sheik Sharufuddin & Hazelina Hezly: An elderly fishmonger experiences strange hallucinations when setting up shop.
- “Gnome” by Sacha Goedegebure: A gnome is visited by a hungry caterpillar.
- “Kayuh!” by Zulhelmy Rusidan (Saikomi): A young trishaw rider is forced to take a difficult customer on a sightseeing trip around Penang.
- “Kring!” by Hilmi Ismail: A passionate teacher tries to help a student with learning difficulties.
- “My Love” by Tan Zheng Ning: An old lady’s time with her love is disrupted when she starts having dark visions.
- “Strings” by Julian Chong Kah Hoong: A girl learns about the enduring power of friendship.
- “The 7th Night: MaoMao Revisits” by AhLoong: A little boy hopes his cat will return to him on the seventh night after its passing.
- “The Dalang’s Tale” by Irwan Junaidy, Maizura Abas & Atiqah Mohd Abu Bakar: A tale exploring domestic violence, with visuals inspired by Malaysian traditional wayang kulit.
- “The Muralz: Year of The Flying Dragon” by Jeremy Lee: A young boy looks forward to eating his father’s legendary char kuay teow at Chinese New Year.
- “The Cliff House” by Wong Jin Yao: An elderly man defies impossible odds to find his missing wife.
- “VOW” by Wong Xu Hong: During a difficult time, a man recalls moments from his wedding.
Exclusive screening and Q&A session with the directors of the 14 shorts and Jared Lee will take place on Oct 12 at GSC Mid Valley Megamall from 10am to 3.30pm.
Malaysian Animation Film Festival 2024
Venue: Selected GSC locations
Date: Oct 3-24
Tickets: RM15 (for one session of either the 14 short films/Grimoire)
For more information, visit GSC’s website.