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MELAPI [0918-12-SBH Registered Society, Malaysia]

Borneo Eco Film Festival

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. At A Glance ............................................................................................................................... 3

2. Our 2014 Programme ............................................................................................................... 4

2.1 An Overview Of Suara 2014 ............................................................................................. 4

2.2 Village-Level Workshop 1: Storytelling ............................................................................. 8

2.3 Village-Level Workshop 2: Camerawork, Interviewing & Production ............................ 14

2.4 Village-Level Workshop 3: Editing Techniques............................................................... 19

2.5 Intensive Workshop: A Primer In Community Filmmaking ............................................ 24

3. Suara Premieres ..................................................................................................................... 36

4. Media ...................................................................................................................................... 38

5. Sponsorship ............................................................................................................................ 39

6. Annex I: Community Filmmakers ........................................................................................... 40

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) is a non-profit event by the voluntary society MELAPI. BEFF’s Suara Community Filmmaking Programme 2014 is made possible through the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, Sabah Forestry Department, Best Western Kinabalu Daya Hotel, Palace Hotel, Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Sabah Hotel Association, Imperial Boutec Hotel, Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat, Borneo Eco Tours, Borneo Nature Tours and CIMB Foundation. We additionally thank all supporting organisations and passionate individuals, Suara trainers, Suara community filmmaking teams and their partners, the many volunteers and friends, with whom all of this becomes possible. Cover photos by Silja Strasser & BEFF. All photos © Borneo Eco Film Festival, unless otherwise stated.

BORNEO ECO FILM FESTIVAL

2014-2015 Adam Murphy

Agnes Lee Agama Chiwon Chin

Chloe Lee Mei Tchuin Chris Chong Chan Fui

Dinoza Mahruf Elaine Kong Holly Jonas

CONTACT US

info@beff.org.my ● www.beff.org.my

MELAPI [0918-12-SBH Registered Society, Malaysia] Lot 34, 2nd Floor, Blok E, Damai Plaza Phase 3,

88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

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1. AT A GLANCE

The ENVIRONMENTAL CINEMA programme is an in-festival presentation of a series of exclusive premieres of local and international environmental films. We are seeking to expand the idea of environmental cinema from the traditional to the experimental, encompassing thoughtful narrative and artful expression in an exploration of our relationship with nature. The BOLEH BAH FILEM KITA! short film competition is part of this programme, as a platform for local filmmakers to showcase their talent. SUARA PREMIERES is another part of this programme where completed SUARA KOMUNITI films are brought to a public audience on the big screen.

COMMUNITY FILMMAKING The SUARA COMMUNITY FILMMAKING programme is about enabling people from all walks of life to tell their stories in their own words and images. SUARA, the Malay word for “voice”, is an innovative year-long programme that aims to train indigenous and local communities how to harness the power of images and sound to tell their stories about their communities and the environments around them.

SUARA KOMUNITI is a year-round training programme that supports filmmakers from indigenous and local communities to make a series of films with their own images and in their own voice. We do this by providing workshops and talks during the festival, as well as year-round training sessions held in their respective communities.

SUARA KOMUNITI is open to indigenous and local community filmmakers and admission is free.

SUARA PUBLIKA is a series of workshops and talks presented at the September festival each year. PUBLIKA features environmental scientists, conservation and community-based groups, storytellers and filmmakers who present exciting workshops and talks about some of the key cultural and environmental issues in Sabah, Borneo and Malaysia today. SUARA PUBLIKA is open to the public and admission is free.

The Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) is an annual non-profit event celebrating Borneo’s biocultural diversity through showcasing environmental films and nurturing local community filmmaking. Our goals are to: 1. 'Educate' through new knowledge on ecological and cultural issues; 2. 'Expose' through environmental films that stimulate discussion; and 3. 'Engage' storytellers through a platform for community filmmaking. BEFF has two components: Suara Community Filmmaking & Environmental Cinema.

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2. OUR 2014 PROGRAMME 2.1 An Overview of Suara 2014

Focus In 2014, BEFF made the important decision to take a hiatus from the Environmental Cinema Programme so that we could focus on growing the Suara Community Filmmaking Programme. We worked to expand our reach by recruiting more teams to join Suara, enriching our trainer pool with more Malaysian filmmakers of diverse backgrounds, and strengthening the Suara training curriculum through field-testing of a Suara Handbook (in press) and deepening our interaction with filmmaking teams. As with previous years, Suara 2014 aims to train indigenous and local communities how to harness the power of images and sound to tell their stories about their communities and the environments around them. In the longer-term, Suara’s goal is to enable people from all walks of life to make films about their natural and cultural environments using their own images and in their own voice.

Process Over a period of roughly eight months stretching from February to early October 2014, we held three village-level workshops on the thematic areas of storytelling, production and post-production for community filmmaking. This process culminated in late October in a five-day intensive workshop covering the full suite of filmmaking stages, techniques and styles. Each of

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these workshops was led by a mixed team of trainers comprised of professional filmmakers from different artistic backgrounds and geographic regions of Malaysia. COMMUNITY FILMMAKING

TOPIC TRAINERS DATES # PARTICIPANTS

KOMUNITI

Village workshop 1 Storytelling

Zan Azlee Zainal Abidin, Evangeline Majawat, Flanegan Bainon

7 to 10 Feb 45

Village workshop 2

Camerawork, Interviewing & Production

Mohd. Jeffri Mohd. Yusof, Anthony Lam

14 to 17 Aug 14

Village workshop 3 Editing Techniques Beatrice Leong, Aaron Tan, Vini

Balan 30 Sept to

3 Oct 16

Intensive workshop

A Primer in Community Filmmaking

Mohd. Jeffri Mohd. Yusof, Beatrice Leong, Flanegan Bainon, Anthony Lam

29 Oct to 2 Nov 40

A key emphasis in Suara is team-building and, as such, Suara works exclusively with community filmmaking teams and not with individuals. We encourage each community filmmaking team to self-select which of their team members would represent their team at each thematic workshop held at village-level. Upon completing a thematic village-level workshop, team members are expected to return and share the skills and experience gained with their home team. This “training of trainers” approach is also expected to support the ongoing filmmaking work teams are conducting as part of their own organisational or community-based work. Suara then consolidates the specialised training delivered over the three thematic village-level workshops by bringing all teams together for a final five-day intensive workshop, this year held from 29th October to 2nd November in Kota Kinabalu. We encourage all team members to attend this workshop where we aim to not only consolidate but also cross-fertilise peer-to-peer sharing of skill sets and artisanship between teams. To add to the mix, the final workshop is when we induct entirely new teams into the Suara community filmmaking process for the first time. The films completed as a result of the final workshop, or eventuating from the year-long Suara process as a whole, are then presented by these community filmmakers to a public audience. This Suara cycle is repeated on a yearly basis, making it an iterative and cumulative process of co-creating camaraderie, sharing stories and generating knowledge about the contemporary environmental and cultural issues faced by ordinary folk in Sabah.

Participants In the course of this year, we have worked with a total of 82 experienced and aspiring community filmmakers, comprised of 51 men and 31 women. These community filmmakers form 16 self-organised teams (i.e. BEFF is not involved in determining the composition of teams). Most teams are comprised of members of the same organisation or village, and there are a handful of teams

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that comprise of partnerships between organisations and villages. Interestingly, the full range of government-community, NGO-community and private sector-community partnerships can be found in the collection of Suara teams. The Suara 2014 batch of community filmmakers come from over 20 villages and 4 towns in 11 districts across Sabah. From as far as the island villages in remote Pulau Banggi in northernmost Sabah, Pulau Mantanani along west coast Sabah, Pulau Omadal off the eastern coast of Semporna and Pulau Sebatik situated southernmost of Tawau, to the inland waters villages of Kg. Sukau and Kg. Batu Puteh along the Kinabatangan River, Kg. Bundu Tuhan in the highlands of Mt. Kinabalu and Kg. Imbak in the forested interior of Sabah – these regions are a good geographic representation of Sabah’s marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The cultural diversity of participants is also representative of this geographical distribution. Although we did not collect data on participants’ ethnicity for all workshops, a quick survey of participants at the final Suara intensive workshop, for example, found that 13 ethnic groups and sub-groupings were represented amongst the 40 community filmmakers at that workshop, who self-identified as being of Dusun, Dusun Tatana, Tidong, Sungai, Rungus, Bajau Suluk, Bajau Semporna, Bajau Ubian, Iranun, Bugis, Sino-Timorese-Idaan, Sino-Kadazan and Iban-Dusun descent. They have endowed the Suara process with a rich cultural and linguistic diversity that is as characteristic of Sabah’s people as is the fluid and easy way with which participants were able to mix, interact and work together.

A scene from our first workshop on storytelling. Suara brings people from communities across Sabah to share stories and build partnerships in a fun and engaging atmosphere.

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Collaboration At the sectoral level, analysis of the Suara 2014 batch of community filmmakers also yields interesting patterns with 19 organisations or villages represented, comprised of 6 community-based organisations (CBOs), 4 villages, 3 NGOs, 3 private sector companies, 2 government agencies and 1 research programme. Suara does maintain our target of supporting communities, whether through CBOs or village groups in the absence of a formalised CBO. In addition, Suara is also engaging with NGOs, private sector, government and the research community, which is an important indicator of our cross-sectoral reach and speaks to the potential for harnessing partnerships to promote and safeguard Sabah’s bio-cultural diversity.

No Sector Organisation / village 1 Community-based

organisations (6) Wanita Pulau Omadal

2 Green Semporna 3 Banggi Youth Club 4 PAKOT, Pulau Sebatik 5 Kudat Turtle Conservation Society 6 MESCOT-KOPEL 7 Villages (4) Kg. Tudan 8 Kg. Melangkap 9 Kg. Mantanani Padang 10 Kg. Bundu Tuhan 11 Non-government

organisations (3) HUTAN - Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme

12 Pacos Trust 13 Borneo Conservancy Initiative 14

Private sector (3) CAMP Borneo Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd.

15 Palace Hotel 16 Glomus Ecology 17

Government (2) Sabah Parks

18 Yayasan Sabah 19 Research programme (1) Royal Society - South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme

It cannot be over-emphasised that Suara is a volunteer programme. All community filmmakers voluntarily contribute their time towards Suara’s community filmmaking process, almost always made possible through the support of their organisations and community partners. Thus while not all team members are able to participate in each and every Suara event due to negotiations with their own work schedules and other commitments, we have nevertheless been successful in engaging with teams as a whole - with the number of community filmmaking teams demonstrating a steady uptrend as Suara continues to grow over the years.

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2.2 Village-level Workshop 1: Storytelling 7th-10th February 2014 at Kg. Bundu Tuhan, Ranau

Introduction To kick-start this new Suara year, we gathered 50 people for a three-day workshop in the scenic village of Kg. Bundu Tuhan at the foothills of Mt. Kinabalu. Forty-five experienced and aspiring community filmmakers in 10 teams, 3 trainers and 2 BEFF Board Members focussed on one goal: developing the art of storytelling. Participants came from the marine environments of Pulau Banggi, Pulau Sebatik, Pulau Omadal, Pulau Bum-Bum and Pulau Mantanani; the forest uplands of Kg. Imbak, Kg. Bundu Tuhan and the cluster of villages that make up Kg. Melangkap; and a range of environments stretching from the peri-urban Kg. Kipouvu to the interior villages of Sabah, the inland waters of Kg. Sukau and the coastal town of Semporna. At the helm of the workshop were trainers Zan Azlee Zainal Abidin, Evangeline Majawat and Flanegan Bainon, who led a four-day process of exploring ideas and unfolding perspectives designed to enable participants to articulate and transfer their desired expressions into the visual media. This process sought to help participants envision and structure the stories they want to tell, before picking up the camera. Supporting this ensemble were BEFF Board Members Chiwon Chin and Holly Jonas. This workshop was also a landmark for BEFF, as the first time we field-tested the community filmmaking curriculum in the “Suara Handbook”. Currently in preparation, the Handbook contains an amalgamation of the community filmmaking approaches, techniques, tips and ethical

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considerations documented from previous Suara workshops since we first began in 2011. Field-testing the “storytelling” module in this workshop allowed us to collect feedback from both participants and trainers. THE TRAINERS

Zan Azlee Zainal Abidin, Journalist, documentary filmmaker, writer and academician. Zan Azlee is a journalist, documentary filmmaker, writer and academician. He is currently Editor/Executive Producer for Magazine Programmes, at ASTRO Awani, a columnist at The Malaysian Insider and lectures at various universities in Kuala Lumpur. He has made documentaries in conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria and Southern Thailand. He specialises in solo-journalism (one-man-crew-production). Zan Azlee has won the Best Documentary Awards at the Anugerah Seri Angkasa and Festival Filem Malaysia. Evangeline Majawat, Writer. Evangeline is a freelance writer who spent over a decade in SmokeCity aka KL. She has written for Yahoo! Malaysia, Malay Mail, The Jakarta Post and various magazines. She was formerly a reporter with the New Straits Times before joining Media Prima Digital as special projects executive where she designed and executed social media campaigns. She loves yoga almost as much as she loves reading. Flanegan Bainon, Documentary photographer. Born and raised Malaysian Borneo, a very mysterious island shaped his Curiosity and Unconventional way of thinking. He started out as Graphic Designer before furthering his studies in Photography at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Australia. Seeking new challenges, Flanegan moved to Tokyo, Japan, where he assisted for Hiraga Masaaki and later worked as a photographer for d'ArC Model and Factory Management. This has changed his aesthetic and inspired his shift towards Portraiture photography. The simplicity and minimalism of his work is a reflection of his appreciation of all forms of life.

Programme

We began by watching films selected by the trainers, followed by an open discussion where participants critiqued the storytelling aspects of these films. Trainers took turns to tease out the details focussing on their individual areas of expertise. The following day, the workshop moved into gear with participants learning how to use a brainstorming process to go from the seed of an idea to generate elements, perspectives and subjects. Evangeline introduced participants to the “Telephone Game”, which is similar to “Chinese Whispers” except this version is played with visuals instead of the spoken word. Playing this game forced participants to tap into their creative selves through the absurd task of transforming simple ideas into something weird. It was an inclusive and engaging process that created room for everyone to chip in and revealed alternative storylines that were not obvious at the start. Getting participants to discover and explore these alternative storylines was an important milestone. It was the crucial first step in enabling teams to realise that there are different ways they could elect to use in sharing their values with outside audiences.

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In emphasising the importance of a well-crafted story, participants learnt about the different ways of using audio visual media to tell a tale. They were also shown how to overcome any initial limitations – whether in equipment, skills or budgets - to develop an engaging story. The stories from Zan and Flanegan of working under tight constraints managed to inspire participants to cope with their own equipment limitations. Zan recounted how, in his recent assignment to cover news in Sweden, he used the most basic equipment to make breaking news. Flanegan shared more examples of audio only media and the entertaining short films of popular viral web video creator Casey Neistat. With creative juices flowing, the workshop explored the tools used to translate ideas into a film. Options for using storyboard, scripting and other pre-shoot preparation

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

DATE TIME ACTIVITY

7th Feb

Fri

5.00 pm ARRIVALS

7.00 pm – 8.00 pm

INTRODUCTION

FILM SCREENING

8th Feb

Sat 8.30 am – 12.00 pm

LECTURES: Using creativity in storytelling, Storytelling using images & Different ways to share a story

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Developing a story

1.00 pm - 5.00 pm

EXERCISE: Telephone game

LECTURES: Finding the seed of a story, Three-act-structure, Identifying the purpose of a film.

9th Feb

Sun 8.30 am – 12.00 pm

COMMUNITY SESSION: Visiting the Bundu Tuhan village

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Filming in the Don Bosco Children’s Home

1.00 pm – 5.00 pm

LECTURE: Script and storyboard

DISCUSSION & PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Developing ideas for film

10th Feb

Mon 8.30 am – 1.00 pm

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Presentations and feedback

DISCUSSION: Next steps and closing

2.00 pm END

Creative storytelling in progress.

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techniques were discussed, with participants free to experiment with adapting different methods to suit their needs. Working in mixed groups, a great deal of emphasis was placed on encouraging participants to nurture their own creative skills and examine their stories from multiple angles in order to find the most resonant perspective. As groups presented their ideas, participants provided constructive feedback and often highlighted different options for developing the storyline further. It was an engaging and entertaining process with good rapport amongst participants as each team worked to broaden their collective thinking and approach to developing their stories for film. Part of the rationale behind village-level workshops is for Suara participants to visit each other’s’ villages and learn more about their host community. Everyone took some time off from the classroom to enjoy a picturesque walk around Kg. Bundu Tuhan guided by the host team. The workshop hiked up and down the steep hillside slopes encasing the Bundu Tuhan valley and paid

Top: Teams practice developing storyboards; Bottom: Participants listening to the stories of one of the Bundu Tuhan priestesses during their village walkabout.

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visits along the way to a traditional skull house, an elderly bobolian (priestess) and an ancient tajau (jar) associated with Kadazandusun origin mythology. We all learnt about how these aspects – the landscape, people and culture - were formative parts of the values and identity of the Bundu Tuhan community. We were lucky that other events were happening at the same time, with participants happily joining the Chinese New Year festivities, including a lion dance, held at the Don Bosco Children’s Home which was sponsored by a group of visiting big bikers. As the workshop drew to a close, each team was assigned to script and storyboard their ideas for their own film. Teams had a chance to present their initial ideas to the workshop where they received feedback from their peers and trainers. Teams were then asked to develop their story ideas over the coming months and were encouraged to commence shooting once they were ready.

Top: Participants enjoyed the impromptu chance to film a lion dance troupe in action; Left: Viewing their footage afterwards.

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Outcomes It was a successful workshop featuring the largest turn-out in the history of Suara village-level workshops. For the more seasoned community filmmakers, it was an important refresher on harnessing creativity to connect and resonate with an audience. For our newbies, this was their induction into a great exploration of the myriad ways to craft an engaging and human story that communicates their intended message. We left Kg. Bundu Tuhan certain that the knowledge gained here would continue to guide the work of community filmmaking teams in their journeys. It was a good start and solid foundation for the year.

Top: Sharing initial ideas for films; Bottom: A storytelling workshop in the scenic village of Kg. Bundu Tuhan with Mt. Kinabalu in the background was a great place to kick-start the year.

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2.3 Village-level Workshop 2: Camerawork, Interviewing & Production 14th-17th August 2014 at Sepilok, Sandakan

Introduction

Suara community filmmakers met for the second time for a three-day workshop on Camerawork, Interviewing and Production held in Sepilok, Sandakan. Nineteen people comprised of 14 participants in 7 teams, 2 trainers, 1 student and 2 BEFF Board Members gathered at the Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat to work on the production aspects of the filmmaking process. Participants came from Pulau Sebatik, Pulau Omadal, Pulau Bum-Bum, Semporna town, Imbak Canyon Conservation Area, Kg. Melangkap, Kg. Terian, Kg. Kipouvu, Kg. Alab Lanas and Pulau Mantanani. It should be noted that this was a particularly difficult workshop to schedule and organise due to the unexpected and concerning security situation along parts of eastern Sabah, where curfews had been in place in some districts for past months that restricted access to and travel around certain areas. Although there was no threat to our safety, the situation was nevertheless cause for concern because of the travel difficulties posed to some of our participants in the affected districts, which did persist even though we had decided to delay the workshop until the security situation had stabilised. Given these logistical considerations, we decided against convening the workshop in a rural village and instead opted to conduct the workshop in Sepilok as it was strategically located within easy access to Sandakan. Location shooting was conducted in the Kg. Sim-Sim water village situated near Sandakan town. The workshop was led by Mohd. Jeffri Mohd. Yusof (a West Malaysian Director of Photography with some 30 years of experience in the industry) and Anthony Lam Vui Kheng (a Sabah based filmmaker and producer). This field workshop represented Anthony’s second time as a Suara

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trainer, having led a workshop on editing in Kg. Bundu Tuhan in September 2013, whilst Jeff was joining the programme for the first time. The trainers were supported by Adam Murphy and Chiwon Chin of BEFF. We were also joined by Silja Strasser, a post-graduate student from the University of Vienna undertaking her dissertation fieldwork on the Suara Programme. She acted as an observer to the workshop as well as providing important feedback to the BEFF Board on aspects of Suara. THE TRAINERS

Mohd. Jeffri Mohd. Yusof, Director of Photography. Jeff is a self-taught Director of Photography. He learnt the art of cinematography from working in the film industry and from cinema itself. With the right tools and knowledge, he believes films will not only entertain audiences but reach into their hearts and minds. His first real breakthrough was in 2001 in ‘Song of the Stork’ a Vietnamese film that won the Best Film at the 2002 Milano Film Festival. This came after decades learning the trade from his humble beginnings as an assistant camera. Jeff has since worked on films such as ‘Puteri Gunung Ledang’ and ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’. He believes that the world is always for the youth and he regularly speaks at seminars giving his views on life and sharing his experience. Anthony Lam, Editor, videographer and photographer. Eight years ago Anthony was a network administrator in Information Technology, working from eight to five, six days a week. One day he realised this was not he wanted and left Malaysia for New Zealand to see the world where he rediscovered his long lost love for photography. He is a fast learner, and in a short period of time he learned a lot. Upon returning to Malaysia, he entered the world of wedding photography progressing swiftly to videography. From here he delved into filmmaking and started to work on short films, advertisements, television shows and music videos. In 2014 he had a small achievement at the Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival where he won a the KKIFF 2014 Jury Awards for the short film “I’m Sorry”.

Programme Expanding on the topics covered during our previous workshop in February, this workshop focussed on improving our participants’ skills in camerawork and the art of interviewing subjects for film. The programme covered both technical and conceptual aspects of camerawork, and encouraged participants to explore novel and innovative ways to tell stories visually. For the first time in Suara’s history, this field workshop was not held in a community which was home to any of our participants. During this course, participants visited an area on the coast of Sandakan commonly referred to as Kg. Sim-Sim to shoot their short films. Kg. Sim-Sim is a diverse cluster of communities each consisting of rows of stilt-houses situated alongside lengthy concrete piers jutting out into the Sulu Sea, and is home to a mixture of indigenous, Malay, Chinese and immigrant communities. We felt that it would offer a unique challenge to our Suara participants to explore an area with which they were entirely unfamiliar, and discover its rich and vibrant stories without any preconceived notions of what they would find there.

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The majority of the workshop was conducted at the Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat in Sepilok, with participants taking a 30 minute shuttle to Kg. Sim-Sim for their location shoots. The trainers maintained a friendly and relaxed atmosphere throughout, in which participants were encouraged to ask questions and discuss their filmmaking experiences at any time. To begin the workshop, all participants introduced themselves and explained how they hoped they would benefit from the workshop. Following an overview of the workshop programme by Adam Murphy, trainers Jeff and Anthony then introduced themselves and discussed their professional histories in film-making.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

DATE TIME ACTIVITY

14th Aug

Thurs

5.00 pm ARRIVALS

7.00 pm – 8.00 pm INTRODUCTION

15th Aug

Fri 8.30 am – 12.30 pm

FILM SCREENING

LECTURES: Camera use: Angles, composition and audio for interviews and cutaways.

1.30 pm – 5.00 pm

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Storyboards and planning a production schedule

LOCATION SHOOTING: Visit to Kg. Sim-Sim, Sandakan.

7.00 pm – 9.00 pm

DISCUSSION: Reviewing footage and planning for the next day.

16th Aug

Sat 8.30 am – 12.30 pm

LOCATION SHOOTING: Visit to Kg. Sim-Sim, Sandakan.

1.30 pm – 9.00 pm

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Organising footage and basic editing.

17th Aug

Sun

8.30 am – 11.00 am

DISCUSSION: Presentation of films and feedback from trainers.

11.00 am – 12.00 pm DISCUSSION: Next steps.

2.00 pm END

Participants watching an instructional video on composition.

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Anthony Lam gave a lecture on camerawork and composition, with clips and short videos to illustrate his points. This was followed by a more conceptual talk delivered by Jeffri Yusof, in which he discussed his personal philosophy and experiences in relation to the art of camerawork. After a question and answer session, the two trainers proceeded to divide the participants into three groups, ensuring that each group contained a mixture of filmmakers from different communities and organisations. Participants were to remain in these groups for the duration of the workshop, each group finding a story of personal interest to them and producing a short film. After lunch, all participants, trainers and organisers travelled to Kg. Sim-Sim where they spent the afternoon talking to local residents to unearth topics and stories, and formulate their film ideas. They also began filming cutaways and establishing shots, and arranged to hold interviews the following morning with their newly-met film characters. When arranging interviews with Kg. Sim-Sim residents, the participants were mindful to explain in full the purpose of the Suara Programme, and reassure potential interviewees that their images would not be used for commercial purposes.

Location shoots at Kg. Sim-Sim. Top: Participants Raymond Didi Nelson and Kinilius Sadampal filming a local woman. Bottom: Participant Azrul Arzmi interviewing one of the Village Heads.

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Back at Paganakan Dii that evening, each group pitched their film ideas to the trainers, and showed their first round of footage. The trainers gave feedback and suggestions, and each group drew up a shooting script of the shots that they needed to get the following day. The majority of the second day was spent back at Kg. Sim-Sim, filming interviews with local residents. By late afternoon the participants returned to Paganakan Dii with their shots in the bag, and began editing their films under the guidance of the trainers – a process which would take them well into the small hours of the morning. By mid-morning on the last day, the weary but still enthusiastic participants screened their final products to the group, and received constructive criticism from the trainers. This was followed by a final question and answer session between participants and trainers, and the workshop concluded by early afternoon.

Outcomes The workshop programme was very well received, and participants commented that they appreciated the opportunity to discuss the more conceptual and philosophical aspects of filmmaking with trainer Jeffri Yusof, especially given the insights gleaned from his 30-year history in the industry. Another positive aspect of the workshop was the location; several participants said that they really enjoyed the experience of exploring Kg. Sim-Sim and uncovering its fascinating stories and characters. We certainly hoped that the workshop provided our participants with a multitude of valuable lessons that they can take with them as they continue their Suara journey throughout the remainder of 2014, and beyond.

Participants and trainers at Paganakan Dii.

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2.4 Village-level Workshop 3: Editing Techniques 30th September – 3rd October 2014 at Kg. Menggaris, Batu Puteh, Kinabatangan

Introduction Our final Suara village-level workshop of 2014 was held in Kg. Menggaris, Batu Puteh, and was hosted by the community-based organisation MESCOT-KOPEL. Following the earlier workshops in February and August 2014 which covered topics on creative storytelling and camerawork, this third workshop sought to develop advanced skills in computer-based film editing techniques. Taken together, the three field workshops conducted throughout the year were intended to give Suara participants a fully rounded suite of filmmaking skills; from the inception of ideas to the finalising of the finished product. Twenty-one people comprised of 16 community filmmakers in 8 teams, 3 trainers, 1 student and 1 BEFF Board Member gathered for a three-day workshop on editing techniques. The 16 participants came from Kg. Batu Puteh, Pulau Bum-Bum, Pulau Omadal, Pulau Sebatik, Semporna town and Kg. Melangkap. There were also team members from the Kinabalu EcoLinc and Imbak Canyon Conservation Area. The workshop was led by trainers Beatrice Leong (a filmmaker hailing from Sarawak), along with her colleagues Aaron Tan (an editor, cameraman and producer from Peninsular Malaysia) and Vini Balan (a film director, also from Peninsular Malaysia) who were supported by Adam Murphy of BEFF. University of Vienna post-graduate student Silja Strasser continued in her role as an observer as part of her dissertation fieldwork.

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THE TRAINERS

Beatrice Leong, Filmmaker. A graphic designer by education, Beatrice is a lover of experiences with a curious nature – venturing into documentary filmmaking was a natural shift for her. She has worked on the documentary Haze Hell Over Asia aired over History Channel and subsequently independently produced and co-directed Tap That! Of Water Land & Us which has been screened at various film festivals. She is furthering film and new media for community engagement and outreach to advocate issues and matters closest to her heart and is currently working on two new documentary projects on land rights issues in East Malaysia and foreign workers in Malaysia. She believes that all voices should be heard and for those who cannot be heard, we must find a way bring them forward. Aaron Tan, Editor. A passionate and detailed worker and a ‘quiet type’. What began as a hobby of taking pictures, turned to studying filmmaking and now sees him in production roles ranging from producer, cinematographer, to directing content for a variety of outlets and clients. Aaron likes to get things done right and believes that there isn’t a shortcut for everything. His strengths include an adaptable visual vocabulary and a flair for working with rhythms. He enjoys bouncing ideas, drawing inspiration from the unconventional and collaborating with others in trying new and innovative methods and skills. Aaron’s recent credits include music videos for home grown bands like Love Me Butch, Bittersweet and more. Vini Balan, Film Director. Known to many as too happy for a KL-ite, Vini graduated with an achievement award from Limkokwing University in Film & Broadcasting. Her first job was with a local food network which led to her interest in food, shooting and traveling beyond her imagination and has grown into many different fields such as film, animation, events, social media and advertising. Growing up in several different states in Malaysia, the dusty Kuala Lumpur has been the stepping ground for her collection of strange photography which at one point only consisted of her feet and the feet of strangers she met while traveling abroad. That oddness got her a place in the first Malaysian Mobile Photography exhibition and from then on continued to expand her knowledge by freelancing for the creative industry with other crazy creatives.

Programme The workshop programme was designed by Adam Murphy of BEFF in consultation with the trainers and drawing upon the experience of Suara workshops over previous years. The majority of the workshop was conducted at the MESCOT-KOPEL community hall situated adjacent to the Kinabatangan River, with participants journeying by motor boat to nearby destinations upriver for their location shoots. To begin the workshop, all participants introduced themselves to the group and explained how they hoped they would benefit from the workshop, followed by Adam giving an overview of the workshop programme. Beatrice Leong then delivered a lecture in which she examined broad definitions of film editing, highlighting the importance of the editor in crafting stories and delivering messages to the audience. She discussed her own experiences as an editor and gave examples of different editing styles, before screening her own recent documentary entitled “Haze Hell over Asia”. Participants were then shown another short documentary, and asked to critique the film from the perspective of its editing, and comment on any weaknesses they observed.

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In the afternoon, Aaron Tan led an introductory session on the use of video editing software, in which he explained editing workflow, aspect ratios, colour correction, inserting subtitles and credits, and options for exporting and encoding video. With the lecture sessions complete, the participants formed four groups and began planning and storyboarding ideas for short films to be completed during the workshop. After a break for dinner, the trainers and participants gathered together again in the evening to discuss and modify their film ideas, and present their shooting scripts. Following feedback and advice from the trainers, Beatrice screened another documentary to give the participants an example of creative editing, and the day’s activities concluded at 9 pm.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

DATE TIME ACTIVITY

30th Sept

Tues

5.00 pm ARRIVALS

7.00 pm – 8.00 pm INTRODUCTION

1st Oct

Weds 8.30 am – 12.00 pm

LECTURES: Basic editing techniques – inserting titles, subtitles and credits; Audio techniques – mixing and cleaning.

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Practicing basic editing.

1.00 pm – 5.00 pm

LECTURES: Colour correction; Exporting and encoding video.

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Practicing basic editing.

7.00 pm – 9.00 pm

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Planning for short films.

2nd Oct

Thurs

8.30 am – 12.00 pm

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Shooting and editing short films.

1.00 pm – 5.00 pm

PRACTICAL GROUP WORK: Editing short films.

DISCUSSION: Presenting short films, feedback from trainers and open discussion.

3rd Oct

Fri

8.30 am – 12.00 pm

DISCUSSION: Reviewing team projects and planning for the final workshop.

1.00 pm END

Trainer Aaron Tan giving instruction on the use of editing software.

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The four film teams spent the morning of day 2 recording all of their footage, including cutaways, environmental shots, and interviews with local residents. Shooting was completed by early afternoon, at which time the participants screened their footage for comment from the trainers. The task of editing then began. Members of each team worked together to craft their footage into compelling stories, with constant oversight and guidance from Beatrice, Aaron and Vini. The participants continued to hone and refine their films well into the night – indeed some of them were still to be found behind their laptops at 3 am! On the morning of the final day, each of the four teams introduced their short films, discussing why they felt their topics were of personal interest, and describing obstacles and challenges they faced in shooting and editing. The teams explored various aspects of Batu Puteh in their films, including the KOPEL homestay programme, the nearby Tungog Eco Camp, the history of the bridge in Kg. Menggaris which connects Western Sabah with the towns of Tawau and Lahad Datu in the south-east, and the traditional ways of life of Orang Sungai people living along the Kinabatangan River. The films were followed by constructive criticism from the trainers and advice on how the editing could be improved, and the workshop was brought to a close at 1 pm.

Outcomes We are very pleased with the fruition of this workshop. It gave the participants an opportunity to explore the plethora of exciting stories to be found in Batu Puteh, and to engage in the entire

Lead trainer Beatrice Leong discussing editing techniques with the participants.

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process of story planning, filming and editing – working against a tight deadline but with continual support from a dedicated team of trainers. Many of the participants were completely new to editing, and the workshop was successful in laying the foundation for this vitally important filmmaking skill, setting the Suara community filmmakers in good stead for the challenges which lay ahead in the fourth and final workshop of this Suara cycle scheduled for late October 2014.

Suara filmmaker Hayati Sandong enjoying a rare break from editing to show off her skills on the kulintangan.

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2.5 Intensive Workshop: A Primer in Community Filmmaking 29th October to 2nd November 2014 at Lok Kawi, Kota Kinabalu

Introduction The final intensive workshop is always a highly-anticipated event in the Suara calendar and this workshop was no different. Seasoned Suara community filmmakers know this is a dynamic, high-energy and challenging sequence where teams develop ideas from scratch, plan and complete their short film in a matter of days. All community filmmaking team members are invited to participate, lending a festive atmosphere to this gathering as participants reconnect with each other. In addition, this workshop is the only time in a Suara cycle when we induct entirely new teams into the programme, where tepid beginners enter what at first glance appears to be community filmmaking bedlam. For this final workshop, forty-nine people comprised of 40 experienced, aspiring and new community filmmakers in 13 teams, 4 trainers, 1 student and 4 BEFF Board Members gathered for a five-day workshop at the Sabah Forestry Department’s Kota Kinabalu District Forestry Office in Lok Kawi, Kota Kinabalu. The 40 community filmmakers hail from 20 villages in 11 districts across Sabah, from the marine environments of Pulau Banggi, Pulau Mantanani, Pulau Bum-Bum, Pulau Omadal, Pulau Sebatik, coastal areas of Kg. Simpang Mengayau and Kg. Bavang Jamal in the north to the towns of Kuaya Penyu, Sandakan, Semporna and Tawau, inland waters of Kg. Sukau and Kg. Kuamut, highlands of the Kg. Melangkap cluster of villages, Kg. Tudan and the Kinabalu EcoLinc.

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Three community filmmaking teams were unable to join this workshop, namely the MESCOT-KOPEL team from Kg. Batu Puteh, Kg. Bundu Tuhan and the Yayasan Sabah team from the Imbak Canyon Conservation Area. Even though these teams had participated in the previous village-level workshops, scheduling conflicts prevented them from coming to this final workshop. Through this workshop, four entirely new teams were inducted to the Suara Community Filmmaking Programme from Kg. Tudan in the Tuaran district, the Kudat Turtle Conservation Society from the northern shores of the Kudat District, the Royal Society – South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme based in the Danum Valley Conservation Area in the Lahad Datu district, and a team from Palace Hotel-Glomus Ecology who have aspirations to partner with Kg. Bundu Tuhan. THE TRAINERS

Mohd. Jeffri Mohd. Yusof, Director of Photography. Jeff is a self-taught Director of Photography. He learnt the art of cinematography from working in the film industry and from cinema itself. With the right tools and knowledge, he believes films will not only entertain audiences but reach into their hearts and minds. His first real breakthrough was in 2001 in ‘Song of the Stork’ a Vietnamese film that won the Best Film at the 2002 Milano Film Festival. This came after decades learning the trade from his humble beginnings as an assistant camera. Jeff has since worked on films such as ‘Puteri Gunung Ledang’ and ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’. He believes that the world is always for the youth and he regularly speaks at seminars giving his views on life and sharing his experience. Beatrice Leong, Director and editor. A graphic designer by education, Beatrice is a lover of experiences with a curious nature – venturing into documentary filmmaking was a natural shift for her. She has worked on the documentary Haze Hell Over Asia aired over History Channel and subsequently independently produced and co-directed Tap That! Of Water Land & Us which has been screened at various film festivals. She is furthering film and new media for community engagement and outreach to advocate issues and matters closest to her heart and is currently working on two new documentary projects on land rights issues in East Malaysia and foreign workers in Malaysia. She believes that all voices should be heard and for those who cannot be heard, we must find a way bring them forward.

Anthony Lam, Editor, videographer and photographer. Eight years ago Anthony was a network administrator in Information Technology, working from eight to five, six days a week. One day he realised this was not he wanted and left Malaysia for New Zealand to see the world where he rediscovered his long lost love for photography. He is a fast learner, and in a short period of time he learned a lot. Upon returning to Malaysia, he entered the world of wedding photography progressing swiftly to videography. From here he delved into filmmaking and started to work on short films, advertisements, television shows and music videos. In 2014 he had a small achievement at the Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival where he won the KKIFF 2014 Jury Awards for the short film “I’m Sorry”.

Flanegan Bainon, Documentary photographer. Born and raised Malaysian Borneo, a very mysterious island shaped his Curiosity and Unconventional way of thinking. He started out as Graphic Designer before furthering his studies in Photography at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Australia. Seeking new challenges, Flanegan moved to Tokyo, Japan, where he assisted for Hiraga Masaaki and later worked as a photographer for d'ArC Model and Factory Management. This has changed his aesthetic and inspired his shift towards Portraiture photography. The simplicity and minimalism of his work is a reflection of his appreciation of all forms of life.

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The workshop was led by trainers Mohd. Jeffri Mohd. Yusof, Beatrice Leong, Anthony Lam and Flanegan Bainon, who were supported by Adam Murphy, Chiwon Chin, Agnes Lee Agama and Holly Jonas of BEFF. University of Vienna post-graduate student Silja Strasser also provided support as well as continuing in her role as an observer.

Programme

Day 1 – October 29th We began a round of introductions to get everybody acquainted. The BEFF team introduced themselves, the trainers and the Kota Kinabalu District Forestry Office complex as the host venue for the entire duration of this workshop, kindly sponsored by the Sabah Forestry Department. Participants introduced their teams with a quick explanation of where they come from, their work and what they hoped to learn from this workshop. Adam Murphy reviewed the three village-level workshops conducted since February. He encouraged the new participants to be unafraid of entering at this stage, explaining that this final workshop was the only time in the year when new participants were invited to join Suara. He gave an overview of the five-day workshop programme, highlighting how participants would be working in mixed teams to build their stories, expand their storylines, shoot and edit their footage and complete a short film within the time provided in this workshop. Completed films would be screened on the last day of the workshop at the venue’s Mini-Theatre to a small audience of invited guests. Adam reassured participants that they would be in the good hands of our talented pool of trainers who would guide them through the steps of the next few days.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

DATE TIME ACTIVITY

29th Oct Weds

9.00 am – 12.30 pm

INTRODUCTION

LECTURE: The importance of film for sharing experiences

1.30 pm – 5.00 pm

LECTURE: Telling stories through film - experiences and reflections

PRE-PRODUCTION GROUP WORK: Development of short film proposals and shooting plans. Presentation and discussion of ideas, assigning Production Team and Post-Production Team

30th Oct Thurs 9.00 am –

12.30 pm

PRODUCTION GROUP WORK: Camerawork, composition and use of audio equipment (advanced) & Camerawork, composition and basic interviewing techniques (basic)

1.30 pm – 5.00 pm PRE-PRODUCTION GROUP WORK (cont’d)

31st Oct Fri

9.00 am – 11.30 pm

LOCATION SHOOTS: Filming in Kota Kinabalu and surrounds.

2.00 pm – 5.00 pm

PRODUCTION TEAMS: Planning and capturing additional footage POST-PRODUCTION TEAMS: Basic and advanced software-based editing

1st Nov Sat 9.00 am –

12.30 pm

PRODUCTION TEAMS: Completing location shoots POST-PRODUCTION TEAMS: Editing of previous day’s footage

1.30 pm – 5.00 pm

POST-PRODUCTION GROUP WORK: Review of new footage & editing of final films

2nd Nov Sun

9.00 am – 10.30am

POST-PRODUCTION GROUP WORK: Finalisation of edit

11.00 pm – 12.00 pm CLOSING CEREMONY

2.00 pm – 4.30 pm SUARA FILM SCREENING

5.00 pm END

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With everyone on first-name terms and feeling more comfortable, trainer Jeffri Yusof set the stage for the workshop with a lecture in which he gave a conceptual overview of the filmmaking process – discussing the broad flow of the pre-production and production processes. He highlighted common pitfalls in filmmaking, sharing his wealth of experience as a Director of Photography to identify obstacles which even professional filmmakers routinely face in their work.

A cozy start to the workshop as Jeffri Yusof guides a conceptual discussion on the art of filmmaking. Photo by Anthony Lam.

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After lunch, the participants divided themselves into seven groups, which were to be their filmmaking teams over the coming days. The trainers kept a watchful eye over the process, ensuring that groups contained a mixture of participants from different communities and a balance of new recruits with more seasoned Suara veterans. Within each team, participants assigned themselves roles such as producer, editor and cameraman, and spent the rest of the day discussing ideas for the short films to be produced during the workshop. Before the end of the day, teams “pitched” their ideas to the trainers; including a broad theme and story arc, and details on proposed shooting locations. Following feedback from the trainers, participants were requested to refine their proposals for further discussion the following morning.

Teams brainstorming on the film ideas. Top photo by Silja Strasser.

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Day 2 – October 30th The second day began with a further round of pitching with each of the seven teams describing their film ideas. The trainers assigned themselves to mentor specific teams, and held discussions with each team individually to give detailed advice on improving film ideas and story arcs. The trainers focussed on helping teams to identify what was so important about their film ideas to them personally, and how they wished to make their messages resonate with a wider audience. Once these team discussions were complete, the workshop regrouped and divided participants into two groups according to their level of expertise. In the basic group, Beatrice Leong and Flanegan Bainon led technical session for the newer participants, in which they demonstrated the proper use of DSLR’s in filming video, and the use of audio equipment such as lapel and zoom microphones. Participants were given time to practice with the cameras and microphones to acquaint themselves with the basic steps in setting up for a shoot.

Teams mentored by trainers Beatrice Leong (above) and Jeffri Yusof (below) engrossed in a discussion about their film ideas, shooting schedules and message they want to communicate. Photos by Silja Strasser.

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Concurrently, Jeffri Yusof and Anthony Lam led a session with the intermediate-advanced participants on camerawork where they discussed in more conceptual terms how different shots and compositional techniques can affect the mood and message of a film. Participants were very active in asking questions and the discussion covered a range of issues including how to strike a balance between good exposure and image quality when shooting videos on DSLR cameras, deciding on what type of focussing to use when planning a shot, being prepared to adapt strategies according the varying environmental conditions, and to reshoot where necessary. Following the technical sessions, participants regrouped into the seven production teams to finalise their film ideas. The trainers moved from group to group to assess whether the pitches were ready or still required further refinement. Once each team had received the trainers’ blessing, they were free to spend the remainder of the day visiting their proposed shooting locations to recce the sites and make arrangements with potential interviewees. Day 3 – October 31st In the next morning, each team’s editor (along with several other interested participants) joined Beatrice Leong at the workshop venue for an introductory session on software-based video editing. Beatrice guided them slowly through the process of beginning a video project, importing

Technical sessions are underway for beginner-level (above) and more advanced participants (below).

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clips, setting video in-out points on footage, organising clips on the timeline, simple transitions, adding an audio soundtrack and inserting still images. She also gave instruction on organising and labelling video and audio files on the computer for a streamlined workflow. Whilst the editors were learning the software basics, Jeffri, Anthony and Flanegan were on location with the production crew of the seven teams assisting them with their first day of shooting. Filming sites included several locations around Kota Kinabalu town, inside the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, and several locations in the neighbouring Donggongon township. By early afternoon, the seven teams regrouped to present and discuss their morning’s footage with their editors and the trainers. Plans were revised, and additional shots required to complete the films were identified. Following this, many of the participants involved in production returned to the field to record more footage, whilst the editors began organising the existing shots to form the framework of their films. Day 4 – November 1st On this penultimate day, the tension began to mount as the deadline for finalising the seven short films loomed ever closer. Cameramen and women, soundmen and women, directors and producers scrambled to get their last cutaways and establishing shots, whilst the editors laboured to bring their stories to life under the trainers’ close scrutiny. By mid-day, all shooting teams had returned to the workshop venue and handed their final shots over to their editors. This was an intense moment for editors who worked with single-minded focus to refine the films throughout the remainder of the day, with assistance from Beatrice, Anthony and Flanegan.

Left: Shooting at the Kota Kinabalu fish market. Photo by Jeffri Yusof. Top: Shooting at the Donggongon market. Photo by Anthony Lam.

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In the afternoon, participants who had completed all their tasks received some welcome respite with a visit to the adjacent Lok Kawi Wildlife Park courtesy of the Sabah Wildlife Department. Before embarking on their tour, they were given a briefing on wildlife conservation by Honorary Wildlife Warden Azri Sawang who is also a Suara participant and staff member of the Hutan-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme. The group then spent some time at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, before returning to the workshop venue to join a film screening and discussion session led by Jeffri Yusof. Back at their hotel that evening, the teams geared up for their final challenge – to get completed versions of their films ready for screening first thing the following day. The participants demonstrated wonderful team spirit and camaraderie, with cameramen and women and producers staying up into the small hours in support of their editors – getting the job done as a team. Day 5 – November 2nd The final day began with a screening of the seven films in front of all participants, trainers and organisers. The trainers then spent the next two hours helping the participants to tweak and finalise their products. With the afternoon’s public screening drawing ever closer, editors were asked to begin rendering and exporting their films by late morning, which were then burned onto DVDs by Anthony and Flanegan. Concurrently, the rest of the participants went to the Mini-Theatre (the venue for the afternoon screening) to rehearse the flow of the team introductions and presentation of films. The morning’s session concluded with an informal Closing Ceremony. The BEFF team congratulated all participants for their admirable openness to learning new things, tireless effort in completing their tasks and dedicated team spirit, accolades that were met with a rousing applause by all. Organisers then awarded certificates to all participants, which was presented by

Editing in progress. Photos by Silja Strasser.

Happy to receive a certificate presented by trainer Jeffri Yusof. Photo by Silja Strasser.

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trainer Jeffri Yusof on behalf of BEFF. The organisers then invited participants to present small tokens of appreciation to the trainers on behalf of BEFF. Invited guests began to arrive by 2 pm, and enjoyed light refreshments before gathering in the Mini-Theatre. The screening session commenced with an introduction to the Suara programme by BEFF co-founder Agnes Agama, accompanied by a slideshow of photos taken during the workshop. Each of the seven teams then introduced themselves and their films to the audience of over 30 guests, before sitting back to enjoy watching the fruits of their labours. Feedback from guests after the screenings was overwhelmingly positive, and we hope that all of our participants left the workshop with a sense of pride and accomplishment – ready to learn and grow further as filmmakers in 2015.

Outcomes At the conclusion of the five-day training programme, seven short films were produced:

Manik Rungus (5 mins 48 secs) Entitled “Rungus Beads”, this film was made by a team of seven community filmmakers who wanted to tell a story about the traditional beadwork of the indigenous Rungus ethnic group in north Sabah. The films examines the cultural roots of Rungus beadwork and looks at the prominence of Rungus beads as cultural artifacts and expressions, having come far from its humble origins in remote villages to the markets and shops of Kota Kinabalu City.

Teams took turns introducing their films to the audience. Photo by Silja Strasser.

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Tradisi yang Diwarisi (4 mins 47 secs) Entitled “Inherited Traditions”, this is a story of a young man from a remote village who is finding his way in the city by running a market stall he inherited from his mother. Made by a team of five community filmmakers, the film explores how his way of life has changed and his aspirations for the future. Zookeeper (6 mins 36 secs) The team of six community filmmakers made this film as a window into the day in the life of a zookeeper who works tending birds and other animals in a zoo. The film depicts the ordinary day-to-day tasks and the years of service this zookeeper has dedicated to caring for the animals - a task that is often taken foregranted by the many visitors who come to the zoo - and begins to ask the bigger question about our responsibility as custodians of nature. A Tsunami in Moyog River (12 mins 13 secs) This dramatic film was made by a team of five community filmmakers who investigated the social and environmental impacts arising from development projects that are faced by the local communities in the village of Notoruss, Penampang. Having unsuccessfully protested against the building of the Babagon Dam on the Moyog River, the community now faces another threat in the re-opening of a dormant rock quarry in the upper catchment of the Moyog River. The film investigates local people’s objections to the quarry and how they remain fearful of the severe flash floods that may ensue if the quarry proceeds. Ubat Traditional (4 mins 26 secs) Entitled “Traditional Medicine”, this film is a short account of the importance of traditional medicines in today’s world and was made by a team of six community filmmakers. Orang Utan (3 mins 34 secs) The team of five community filmmakers decided to shoot this film with no interviews and used only footage of orangutans to convey the character of this gentle animal. Combined with footage pre-shot in the Kinabatangan, this film constrasts the life an orangutan leads in the wild with a life of captivity in a zoo. It asks difficult questions about the fate of wildlife species when large scale land use changes are removing Sabah’s remaining natural habitats. Tembok Kehidupan (3 mins 50 secs) The six community filmmakers in this team chose the title “Bastion of Life” to encapsulate the story of a single mother who runs a food stall at the seafront markets in Kota Kinabalu City. Told through her prosaic voice, she describes a way of life that begins as the night unfolds and is sustained by the comings and goings of the many people who patronise these markets.

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These films represent the accomplishments of the community filmmakers on many levels. First, the cumulative impacts of the three thematic village-level workshops can be seen in the way these stories are conveyed as character-driven pieces. From a technical perspective, the seven films posses differing levels of video and audio quality and presentation, which reflects the different levels of expertise within each team. All of the films will undergo further post-production. While only the best selection will be presented for public screenings and finally uploaded online, all of these films will be used in future training workshops for commentary and as a basis for discussion. We will also make the films available to other parties, such as film festivals and civil society organisations, for non-commericial uses. We have already received requests from the Sabah State Library to include a selection of the Suara 2014 films into their lending collection. Importantly, both trainers and participants reported feeling satisfied with the growing expertise amongst participants, and especially impressed with the level of commitment shown by all participants. Trainers had important suggestions for future training, including audio recording and editing and advanced camera work. Despite the gruelling pace and long sleepless nights, the participants unanimously agreed it was a wonderful high-energy experience and that they had grown a common bond by enduring this experience together. Several teams remarked on how they would be using their acquired filmmaking skills in their own work, and all teams expressed their interest in continuing with the Suara Programme. As is customary in Suara, an annual meeting will be held to gather the team leaders and Suara organisers to evaluate the 2014 activities and outcomes, assess any gaps, needs and areas of interest, and jointly plan the 2015 programme of activities. This meeting is currently planned for 7th to 9th January 2015 and includes a session with the Sabah State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment. It is anticipated that community filmmakers will be able to showcase some of their films and brief the Minister and officials on the progress and plans of the Suara Community Filmmaking Programme. 2014 has been a successful year for Suara and, as an iterative process, the many lessons that have accumulated over the course of the year will be digested, analysed and made to contribute towards the growth and impact of the programme as a whole. We are particularly delighted with the scale of participation and responses from the community filmmakers, which we feel is reason for the programme to continue charting our path.

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3. SUARA PREMIERES Though 2014 was a gap-year for the Environmental Cinema Programme, we still felt it was important for Suara films produced this year to be presented to a public audience. The Suara films produced during the final intensive workshop were successfully screened to a small audience of invited guests on 2nd November. To access a wider, public audience we targeted the Sabah Forestry Department’s Centennial Celebrations held from the 9th to 12th November at the Town Padang in the centre of Kota Kinabalu.

The Centennial Celebrations was a state-level high-profile event to commemorate 100 years of the Sabah Forestry Department, which was officiated by the Chief Minister of Sabah, graced by former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, ministers, foreign ambassadors and other dignitaries, heads and staff of government agencies, private sector partners

and civil society organisations. It was a much anticipated, large-scale event that was open, for free, to the public featuring cultural performances, educational and recreational activities, exhibitions and entertaining stage shows. With the support of the Sabah Forestry Department, two Suara films were premiered as part of the Centennial Celebrations. The films, entitled “Tradisi yang Diwarisi” and “Manik Rungus” are part of the batch of films made during the Suara intensive workshop held from 29th October to 2nd November at the Kota Kinabalu District Forestry Office in Lok Kawi.

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The first film, “Tradisi yang Diwarisi”, screened on the 10th November, was made by a mixed group of five community filmmakers and features a young indigenous man from a traditional village in the forests of northern Sabah. Now living in an urban area, running a local market stall he inherited from his mother, his story of venturing beyond his home village and forests is a familiar one with which many young Sabahans can relate. The second film, “Manik Rungus” was made by a group of seven community filmmakers and tells the story of the intricate traditional beadwork of the Rungus community, which is embedded with motifs inspired by forest plants and cultural stories. Today, these beads come far from the remote forested villages where they are made by indigenous artisans to be sold in shopping malls and tourism centres, and are now an enduring symbol of Sabah’s identity and heritage. Bringing local stories to public audiences is a key accomplishment for the Suara Community Filmmaking Programme, and the premiere of these two community-made films at a prestigious event such as the Centennial Celebrations was a mark of a successful year for the programme.

The film “Tradisi Yang Diwarisi” premiered on the big screen at the Sabah Forestry Department’s Centennial Celebrations in Kota Kinabalu.

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4. MEDIA We aimed to target media coverage of the final intensive Suara workshop held in Kota Kinabalu at the end of October. A total of two press releases were circulated to announce the workshop and screening of Suara films at the Sabah Forestry Department’s Centenary Celebrations. With the support of the US Embassy, visiting journalists were able to conduct interviews with several community filmmakers during the course of the workshop resulting in excellent write-ups featured in one national, one regional and local English and Chinese newspapers both in print and online.

Clockwise from top: • Daily Express 7 Nov 2014 • Borneo Post 29 Oct 2014 • Daily Express 6 Nov 2014.

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5. SPONSORSHIP Sponsorship, both cash and in-kind, has gone towards the organisation of Suara village-level workshops and the main training course in Kota Kinabalu. This includes covering the costs of accommodation and catering during workshops in addition to supporting the travel needs of Suara teams. The BEFF 2014 sponsors are:

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah US Embassy Kuala Lumpur

Sabah Forestry Department Best Western Kinabalu Daya Hotel

The Palace Hotel Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa

Sabah Hotel Association Imperial Boutec Hotel

Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat Borneo Eco Tours

Borneo Nature Tours CIMB Foundation

In addition, BEFF 2014 supporting organisations have made important in-kind contributions that have enabled the participation of community filmmaking teams at Suara workshops:

CAMP Borneo Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd. ERE Consulting Group Sdn. Bhd.

Hutan - Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme Kudat Turtle Conservation Society MESCOT Initiative & KOPEL Bhd.

PACOS Trust Royal Society – Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Programme

Sabah Parks WWF Malaysia Yayasan Sabah

Sabah Wildlife Department Finally, BEFF remains indebted to the professional filmmaking community whose members have given generously their time, expertise and friendship as volunteer trainers at Suara 2014 workshops. Not forgetting numerous others who have volunteered their time and resources to make our 2014 programme a success.

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6. ANNEX I: COMMUNITY FILMMAKERS

TEAM No Name M/F Village

Workshop Attended

1 2 3 4

BANGGI YOUTH CLUB (6)

1 Sarmalin Sakirun F

2 Siti Noraidah Junlai F

3 Mohd Yusuf Bural M Kg. Perpaduan Banggi

4 Arsad Roseller M Kg. Perpaduan Banggi

5 Ahmad Sofie Mohd Selleh M Pulau Maliangin Banggi

6 Muhammad Omar Bural M Kg. Perpaduan Banggi

BUNDU TUHAN (8)

7 Remmy Alfie Awang M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

8 Errol Clancy John M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

9 Ambrose Philip Jumin M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

10 Marounickley Micheal M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

11 Nelson Tainis M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

12 Harry Rayner Ross M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

13 Jasmine Arinie Johnny F Kg. Bundu Tuhan

14 Imelda Soidi F Kg. Bundu Tuhan

BORNEO CONSERVANCY & MELANGKAP (9)

15 Alice Mathew F

16 Jessieca Dauni F Kg. Lokos, Tuaran

17 Harry Junior M Kg. Kamizaen, Papar

18 Roselin Marupin F Kg. Melangkap Kapa

19 Fauziah Minsin F Kg. Melangkap Tomis

20 Melessa Danil F Kg. Melangkap Baru

21 Dominik Kandai M Kg. Melangkap Tiong

22 Dumin Sinit M

23 Rinomin Kamin M

CAMP BORNEO & MANTANANI (3)

24 Aida Rahman F

25 Herda Albi F Kg. Mantanani Padang

26 Masyuni Hasim F Kg. Mantanani Padang

GLOMUS ECOLOGY -

PALACE HOTEL (2)

27 Mohd Afinday bin Ahmad M Tawau

28 Daisy Mak F Kg. Sugud, Penampang

GREENS SEMPORNA (5)

29 Muhammad Adzmin bin Abdul Fatta M Semporna

30 Rhena bt Ismail F

31 Amirul Afiq bin Abdullah M

32 Awang Radzi bin Awang Rosdi M

33 Nurasikin bt Jajim F

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TEAM No Name M/F Village

Workshop Attended

1 2 3 4

HUTAN-KOCP (9)

34 Azri Sawang M Kg. Sukau

35 Eddie Ahmad M Kg. Sukau

36 Berjaya Elahan M Kg. Sukau

37 Hartiman Abdul Rahman M Kg. Sukau

38 Hamisah Elahan F Kg. Sukau

39 Mahatir Ratag M Kg. Sukau

40 Selamat Suali M Kg. Sukau

41 Noorzeelah Mursalin F Kg. Sukau

42 Noratika Husir F Kg. Sukau

KUDAT TURTLE CONSERVATION

SOCIETY (4)

43 Emmi Oniau F Kg. Simpang Mengayau

44 Jessy Oniau F Kg. Simpang Mengayau

45 Roland Agansai M Kg. Bavang Jamal

46 Suziana Magunding F Kg. Bavang Jamal

MESCOT-KOPEL (3)

47 Rosli Jukrana M Kg. Batu Puteh

48 Saidal Udin M Kg. Batu Puteh

49 Mohd. Faijan Mustapah M Kg. Batu Puteh

PACOS (8)

50 Mohd. Nizam Andan M Pulau Bum Bum Semporna

51 Jubili Anilik M Kg. Kipouvu

52 Raymond Didi Nelson M Kg. Terian

53 Kinilius Sadampal M Kg. Alab Lanas

54 Mazlan Ajuk M

55 Masli Ajuk M

56 Marisa Tingkun F

57 Mohd Rafiq bin Norabidin M

SABAH PARKS (3)

58 Henry Roger Ross M Kg. Bundu Tuhan

59 Eddyson Joseph M Kg. Kiau Taburi

60 Sonetha Sining F Kg. Muruk, Ranau

SEARRP (4)

61 Jamiliddin Jami M Tawau

62 Adrian Karolus M Sandakan

63 Remmy Murus M Kuala Penyu

64 Philip Ulok M Kg. Kuamut, Kinabatangan

SEBATIK / PAKOT (2)

65 Nordiansah Sandong M Kg. Sg Tongkang, Pulau Sebatik

66 Hayati Sandong F Kg. Sg Tongkang, Pulau Sebatik

TUDAN (3)

67 Jomuin Galuk M Kg. Tudan

68 Vessie Galuk F Kg. Tudan

69 Deddy Gindin M Kg. Tudan

WAPO (9)

70 Naesah bt Tangki F Kg. Pulau Omadal

71 Sitti Rasah bt Haji Abdul F Kg. Pulau Omadal

72 Mohd Sukri bin Robin M Kg. Pulau Omadal

73 Mohammad Zaki M Kg. Pulau Omadal

42

TEAM No Name M/F Village

Workshop Attended

1 2 3 4

74 Mohd Ikhwan Mansuli M Kg. Pulau Omadal

75 Nurulisma Mahsula F Kg. Pulau Omadal

76 Era Fazirah Mahsula F Kg. Pulau Omadal

77 Masmera Jimlah F Kg. Pulau Omadal

78 Roziah Jalalid F Kg. Pulau Omadal

YAYASAN SABAH (4)

79 Azrul Arzmi Michael M

80 Salihudin Saumin M

81 Tomi Abdillah M Kg. Imbak

82 Masdan Gindar M Kg. Imbak

Total MALE: 51 Total MALE: 26 11 11 22

Total FEMALE: 31 Total FEMALE: 19 3 5 18

GRAND TOTAL: 82 GRAND TOTAL: 45 14 16 40