THE 12TH KLEFF AWARD CEREMONY: RECOGNITION TO FILMMAKERS ADVOCATING FOR ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ACTION
THE 12TH KLEFF AWARD CEREMONY: RECOGNITION TO FILMMAKERS ADVOCATING FOR ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ACTION
10th October 2019, Kuala Lumpur – The 12th International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) Award Ceremony is a prestigious event to celebrate the work of filmmakers and cinematographers from around the globe advocating for environmental sustainability and climate action. This year, with the theme of “Climate Action…Now!”, KLEFF received a total submission of 233 environmentally-themed films from 48 countries and out of these, 86 ground-breaking films of various genres and lengths are screened throughout the festival.
The 12th installation of KLEFF Award Ceremony were held at KL Convention Centre in conjunction with the 10th International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM). The ceremony was graced by the presence of Yang Berhormat Puan Yeo Bee Yin, Minister of the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC), Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Azhar bin Hj Yahaya, Secretary-General Ministry of MESTECC, Dr. Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu, Deputy Secretary General (Environment and Climate Change) of MESTECC, Tuan Syed Ahmad Bin Syed Mustafa, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Green Technology Corporation, KLEFF notable partners, filmmakers and esteemed media.
Founded and initiated by not-for-profit environment NGO EcoKnights, KLEFF is Malaysia’s longest-serving platform to promote sustainable living through showcases of environmental films and creative activities such as eco workshops, SDG forums, Green Market and more.
“I believe that it is never easy to do work at NGO levels…I believe that the purpose of this [partnership] is to encourage EcoKnights to continue [its work] and I hope that from this, we can fully support [EcoKnights] in any way we can – to help you execute your work, do your initiative well because we believe that when you do well, the government can do well,” said YB Pn. Yeo Bee Yin, Minister of MESTECC during her speech.
This year, KLEFF presents two major awards, the General Awards and Special Awards. The General Awards consist of Best Short Film Award, Best Short Documentary Award, Best Feature Film/Long Documentary Award, Best Public Service Announcement (PSA) Award, and Best Animation Award. The Special Awards in turns consist of KLEFF’s Special Jury Award, ASEAN Young Filmmaker Award, Special Merit Award and lastly, MyForest Award.
YB Pn. Yeo Bee Yin was invited to give away the trophies and certificates to the winners of General Awards, including Malaysian filmmaker Sean Lin, whose film, “Sleepless” won the Best Short Film Award. The film highlights the unique and salient relationship between humans, animals and nature – setting forth the importance of preserving our Earth as we coexist together.
MyForest Award was created in collaboration with and awarded by Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).
“The inaugural MyForest Award is made possible by the five-year project by MNS to increase awareness on good forest governance. Only by increasing the knowledge and value of the forest and the wildlife sustained within it, can there be a need and urgency for biodiversity conservation,” shared Ms. Stephanie Bacon, Vice President of MNS.
Turning vision into climate action, the trophies presented to the filmmakers during the ceremony were made by recycled plastic bottles and upcycled wood pallets. The bottles were collected and contributed by Kiehl’s Malaysia, KLEFF 2019 Main Sponsor, in conjunction with its ‘Recycle & Be Rewarded’ programme.