KOTA KINABALU: The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) returns for its 14th edition this month.
The week-long festival starts with an opening night film from New Zealand, “Whina”, on Sept 23.
The film tells the story of a strong Māori woman who led her people to parliament to talk about indigenous land rights. It is based on the true story of Dame Whina Cooper.
KKIFF Festival Director Jude Day said “Whina” is one of the 21 films selected for the 14th edition of KKIFF.
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“All films selected for the KKIFF come from Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Germany, and France.
The KKIFF, she said, is also very proud to feature two Sabah-made films – a short film called “Taken” (Tinalangan) directed by Jainie Jaibin, as well as a feature film called “Maria” directed by Ryot Ujin, starring Jovenea Jim, Amin Wali, Ixora Roselle and Jonny Damianus.
“Maria will be our closing night film on Saturday, Sept 30. This will be a great opportunity to meet the cast and crew and ask them questions about the making of the film,” she said.
On Sept 24, there will be three talks about filmmaking, which are free and open to everyone.
“Short films will accompany the talks and will be led by German filmmaker Till Passow and Malaysian filmmakers Aw See Wee and Edwin Raj.
“These talks and screenings will take place at Ibis Styles Hotel in Inanam, starting at 9.30am, and are part of the KKIFF filmmaking course, Sabah Film Lab.”
The festival guides are available at coffee shops around the City and visit the official website to purchase movie tickets from Friday (Sept 1) onwards.
The KKIFF will be held at City Cineplex, City Mall Shopping Centre, here, starting at 8pm every night from Sept 23-Sept 30.
The KKIFF 2023 ends with the KKIFF Awards Night on Oct 1, at the Grand Ballroom, Hilton Hotel.
This event is free and open to everyone. It includes screenings of the three winning films from the Go10 Filmmakers’ Competition and the premiere of the short films made during the Sabah Film Lab.
For more information, visit the website or the KKIFF Facebook page.
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