“WAShhh”, by Mickey Lai, was one of two winners of the Shorts Award at the Alternativa Film Awards in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Dec 1. The filmmaker, who hails from Seri Kembangan, Selangor, received a prize of US$10,000 (RM44,482.50).
Lai’s short film tells the story of a Chinese trainee in a Malaysia National Service camp who is ordered to lead her multiracial comrades in washing stained sanitary pads in the middle of the night.
“Their commander is a born bully, the task pointless and humiliating; under pressure, the different racial groups in the class start to blame one another for their punishment,” reads the official description of the film.
“WAShhh” premiered at the 77th Locarno Film Festival’s Pardi di Domani section, and won the Pardino d’Oro award for Best International Short Film.
“I never expected this outcome. I still vividly remember how nervous I was before our world premiere in Locarno, Switzerland, in August. I had no idea how foreign audiences would react to a film with such a deeply local context,” Lai told FMT Lifestyle.
“Over the past few months, as the film has screened in various countries across both the east and west, I’ve realised that the pain and struggles we experience are universally shared. I’m grateful that the film has sparked meaningful conversations.”
The black-and-white 23-minuter – filmed in a single take! – is based on Lai’s real experiences, and has been commended for its boldness in sparking conversations on taboo topics surrounding cultural beliefs. Its cast features Farah Ahmad, Esha Anum, Kaana Selvam and Li Xuan Siow.
Lai, who is now working on her first feature film, said she hopes audiences will be inspired to listen to one another and see things from various perspectives.
“Above all, I hope it inspires kindness. Our society needs kindness more than ever,” she said.
The Shorts Awards, presented to two short films produced in the region, aims to support creatives who produce films with a clear impact and vision. The other winner was Vietnamese experimental documentary “A Cleaning Service”, directed by Nguyen Duy Anh.
The Alternativa Film Awards recognises films with artistic excellence that address important social and cultural topics, with the goal of positively affecting the lives of individuals and local communities, and challenge injustice. Awards are given across five categories, with a prize fund of US$100,000.
The awards are part of the Alternativa Film Project, an international non-profit project launched by global technology company inDrive in 2023.
A master’s graduate in film and TV production from the Met Film School in London, Lai’s short films often grapple with subjects such as cultural values, mortality, and identity.
Her directorial short debut, “The Cloud Is Still There” (2020), was screened in Busan, Clermont-Ferrand (France), and Shanghai, while her documentary short “A Worm, Whatever Will Be, Will Be” (2022) won the Jury Award at the 2022 SeaShorts film festival.
During the award’s open call for submissions, Malaysia was among the top three countries with the highest number of entries, with 58 submissions out of the total 680 eligible entries. From there, 25 were shortlisted, including two Malaysian shorts, “WAShhh” and “Peaceland” by Ekin Kee Charles.
The latter is an “affectionate portrayal of my relationship with my community and family, spanning the past, present, and future”, its filmmaker wrote. “It captures the love-hate dynamic I share with the place I call home.”
According to Charles, “Peaceland” stars people from his community, “including family members, close friends, and even three of my real-life aunties”.
A full list of winners can be found on the Alternativa Film Awards website.