MEDIA LAUNCH: Salang (second left) at the media launch of Aiffa 2013. Also seen are (from left) Finas director-general Raja Rozaimie Raja Dalnish Shah, Livan and Permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Datuk Ik Pahon Joyik. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: The Asean International Film Festival and Awards (Aiffa) to be organised by Malaysia next year will feature filmmakers from Hol lywood and India’s Bollywood along with those from Asean countries.
To begin on March 28, the three-day festival will be held in Kuching, Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang said.
He said the event was aimed at creating an avenue for Asean f i lmmakers as wel l as thei r counterparts from Hollywood and Bollywood to network with one another.
“More importantly, t hi s international film festival will also provide Asean filmmakers the opportunity to work in tandem with the objectives of the Asean integration process,” he said at the Aiffa 2013 media launch here yesterday.
The festival is also backed by the Sarawak Tourism Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas).
Present at the media launch were Aiffa director Livan Tajang and fi lm festival consultant from Hollywood, Steven Bernard.
Salang said despite promoting Asean fi lms internationally, the festival would be a platform for long-term sustainable economic objectives, such as job creation in the fi lm industry.
Meanwhi le, Livan said the event would not only enable filmmakers to collaborate but a l so ac cord re cognit ion t o outstanding achievements in Asean cinema.
“We intend to make Aiffa 2013 a platform to have the state (Sarawak) recognised as a hub for the film industry to move forward,” she said.
She said the event would likely feature Hollywood producers Kymber Lim, Christopher Chen and Greg Levinsohn, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work in ‘Saving Private Ryan’. — Bernama