Taylor’s University Film Festival Live Screening of Local & Foreign Student Filmmakers' Masterpiece

The highly anticipated Taylor’s University Film Festival (TUFF) 2023 in its third year running since its inauguration in 2019 was held in March this year. Organized by academics and students from Taylor's School of Media and Communication (SOMAC), the week-long festival held several film screenings and collaborative workshops with industry partners such as Adobe, BMW Shorties and Canon which specifically touched on the latest development and digital equipment that are commercially used in film productions.

This year, TUFF saw a contribution of 85 film submissions from both within Malaysia and globally, reflecting the film festival’s international recognition among young filmmakers who are searching for a platform to make their debut as Producers and Directors. The full lineup of international entrants included Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, China, India, New Zealand, Australia, France, Morocco, Brazil, Belgium and the United States.

TUFF culminated with a screening of 10 chosen film submissions, at MBO Cinemas, Atria Shopping Gallery. An award ceremony with 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 the renowned local film industry practitioners such as the newly appointed National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) Chairman Datuk Kamil Othman among others.

Additionally, this year’s TUFF recognized several student-produced documentary films that were aligned with Taylor's Impact Lab - Liveable Urban Communities, a transdisciplinary ecosystem with the vision to improve the quality of life of urban communities and create liveable vibrant urban places in Malaysia. Collaborating with various non-governmental organizations such as PAWS (PAWS Animal Welfare Society), Fugee School and Tender Hearts, the films were judged based on their ability to move and engage audiences as well as the technical filmmaking skills.