Final SUARA Community Filmmaking Workshop of 2014 held in Sabah

Credit: SUARA / BEFF

Since its inception in 2011, the Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) has run a training programme for aspiring community filmmakers called SUARA ("voice" in Bahasa Malaysia). In 2014, four workshops were held throughout the year, culminating in a five-day intensive workshop from 29 October to 2 November at the Sabah Forestry Department's district office at Lok Kawi.

There were over 40 participants from 24 villages and towns across Sabah, who learned practical skills in storytelling, pre-production, filming, and post-production. By the end of the workshop, each of the seven groups conceptualised and produced their own short film (including on topics such as Indigenous Rungus beadwork and the journey of a young urban Indigenous man from the forests of northern Sabah). Two of the films have been selected for public screening at the upcoming Centenary celebrations of the Sabah Forestry Department in the week of 9 November 2014. Congratulations to all of the participants and thanks to the many sponsors, supporters, and volunteers. For more information, check out local media coverage in Sabahkini and the Daily Express.

First SUARA Workshop of 2014 Held in Bundu Tuhan, Sabah

The Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) is now in its fourth year of operation with its headquarters in Sabah, Malaysia. A major part of BEFF is SUARA (“voice” in Bahasa Malaysia) Komuniti, a community filmmaking programme consisting of a series of workshops throughout the year and culminating in an intensive workshop immediately prior to and in parallel with the annual Festival. The overall emphasis of the programme is on supporting community members to communicate their stories, experiences and worldviews relating to Borneo’s biological and cultural heritage in their own voices. SUARA Komuniti participants to date have included a range of Indigenous peoples and local communities from across Sabah, Malaysia, many of whom are working alongside local or national non-governmental organisations such as Partners of Community Organisations in Sabah, Borneo Conservancy Initiative, Hutan, Camps International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia to support community conservation initiatives.

The 2014 SUARA Komuniti programme kicked off with its first workshop from 7-10 February in Bundu Tuhan, Sabah, which Holly Jonas (Natural Justice) helped document as a member of the BEFF Board of Directors. The workshop focused on storytelling and was run by veteran SUARA trainer and multimedia talent Zan Azlee Zainal Abidin and two new Sabahan trainers, portrait photographer Flanegan Bainon and writer Evangeline Majawat. Sessions included technical and practical topics such as creative use of multimedia, the ‘three-act’ structure, photo essays, and development of mind-maps and storyboards. The more than 40 community participants worked hard to develop ideas and draft storyboards for short films, which they will further develop at the second SUARA workshop on production techniques (tentatively scheduled for May). Photos will soon be posted on the BEFF and Natural Justice Facebook pages.

Community Filmmaking Workshops Held Alongside Borneo Eco Film Festival

From 25-29 September, Holly Jonas (Natural Justice) joined the SUARA community film-making programme in Sabah, Malaysia, which was held alongside the third annual Borneo Eco Film Festival. SUARA (which means 'voice' in Bahasa Malaysia) is all about celebrating the natural and cultural heritage of Borneo through the voices and perspectives of people from the island. The flagship programme was SUARA KOMUNITI, a year-long capacity building programme that includes village-level workshops with professional film-makers and culminates in the September training with participants from Indigenous and local communities from across Sabah. This year, four of the films made by groups in the intermediate/advanced stream were screened in public during the closing night of the Film Festival and will soon be available on the Festival website.

It also featured SUARA PUBLIKA, a special series of workshops and talks by artists, grassroots organisations, and leading scientists, which this year included topics as diverse as heritage preservation, Indigenous Dusun folklore, hornbill conservation, wetland and mangrove restoration, e-waste, community livelihoods, and marine protected areas.

Please consider supporting the Borneo Eco Film Festival; it is a non-profit event that is truly making a difference in nurturing and amplifying the voices of the Indigenous stewards of Borneo's biological and cultural diversity.