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Film Dokumenter

Short Competition

Program Notes

This year, a sense of variety was present in the Short Competition as its films attempted to bring creative and experimental approaches to their presentation as documentaries. This way of storytelling signifies a variety of ways in telling a story in a perceived “reality”. These films not only reflect the filmmakers’ vision, but also show a familiarity or deep understanding of the protagonists and the topics they investigate.

The five films competing in this year’s Short Competition address contemporary issues, spanning multi-directional bridges to the past and future. They range from collective, to personal and domestic issues. Archives, folklore, memories, letters, and identity are featured in these films. Their presentation style provides additional insights or invites further questions that are not only limited to a cognitive level, but also usher in a lasting impression, reflective, and emotional impact.

Film

Jury

Kong Rithdee

Kong Rithdee began his career in 1996 as a feature writer on culture (covering film, literature, and visual arts) for the English-language newspaper, The Bangkok Post. He contributed to various international film magazines from the late 1990s until now. Since 2019, he has served as deputy director of Thai Film Archive, a nonprofit archive, preservation, and education organization; while continuing to write for several English and Thai publications. Kong has been a jury member at several film festivals over the past two decades, including Rotterdam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Jeonju, Busan, Vancouver, Dubai, and many more.

Mira Asriningtyas

Mira Asriningtyas is an independent curator and art writer. She completed curatorial programs at De Appel Curatorial Program (Amsterdam), RAW Material Company (Dakar), and earned an MA in Arts and Society from Utrecht University. Mira has curated exhibitions at institutions like Stedelijk Museum, FSRR, ISCP, MAIIAM, and others. In 2017, she initiated the site-specific art project 900mdpl in Kaliurang, Yogyakarta. In 2024, she and Dito Yuwono were appointed directors of Cemeti – Institute for Art and Society in Yogyakarta.

Sébastien Simon

Based in Busan, South Korea, Sébastien Simon is a French filmmaker, a guest professor at Dongseo University International College, and a programmer for Busan International Short Film Festival. He graduated from the ESEC film school and from Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents (2024) and BiFan’s Fantastic Film School (2020). His directed works include One-Minded (2014), Tetsu Kono’s Crazy Routine (2016), The Troubled Troubadour (2016), and The Old, The New, and The Other (2022).

Selection Committee

Amalia Sekarjati

Amalia Sekarjati–called Sekar–is an arts and culture enthusiast and worker, especially film. Starting as a publicity and communications officer for an alternative cinema in Jakarta, Indonesia, she then was mostly involved in film-event organizing until now. She also worked as a film reporter and part of a film distribution initiative. Currently, she is focusing on continuing her journey in archiving after finishing her formal studies in the field.

Lee Yve Vonn

Lee Yve Vonn is a Malaysian producer for Afternoon Pictures who has attended Busan Asian Film School, SEAFIC x PAS Lab, Berlinale Talents, amongst others. Over the decade, she presented feature film projects at Golden Horse FPP, GZDoc, Locarno Open Doors, Berlinale TPM, HAF, NAFF, TFGM, Tokyo Docs, and IDFA Forum. Yve Vonn produced Silver Hanuman winner of Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Oasis of Now (Busan, Berlinale) and coproduced NETPAC award recipient, Hungry Ghost Diner (BiFAN, Rotterdam).

Rugun Sirait

A freelance worker – in 2023 finished a masters program in Digital Anthropology at UCL. Has a strong interest in various forms of media and the culture of the internet. Recently teaches anthropology, took part in Youth of Today art residency at Ruang MES 56, and was a fellow at the 69th Flaherty Seminar. Firmly believes that media cannot escape from its context and issues that surround it. Working in between digital ethnography, film programming, film producing, and whatnot.