UTAR students awarded at BMW Shorties 2022

UTAR Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) student Victor Chen Yee Fei and UTAR Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) student Varten Tharumalingam along with his teammates from FCI Keviinraj Rajasing, Shweetha Nair Sivakumar, and Dineshvarkumar Ananthkumar were recently awarded at The BMW Shorties 2022, which took place on 10 December 2022 at REXKL.

Organised by BMW Malaysia, BMW Shorties 2022 is the longest-running and the most prestigious short film competition in Malaysia, where emerging Malaysian filmmakers and digital content creators are free to express their creativity.

During the competition, Victor Chen, who is also the Chairperson of UTAR Sungai Long Film Club, and his team managed to secure the Judges’ Honourable Mention prize with their short film, MINDFRAME. The film, which blurs the line between fiction and reality, detailed the story of a film lecturer visiting a depressed student, where he reads the young man’s latest film script. Victor Chen’s film was also directed by filmmaker and educator Andy Darrel Gomes and was made possible under the film collective, Transitional Cinema, which is supported by Five Arts Centre and The Krishenjit Fund.

Meanwhile, Varten bagged the Best Student Shorties Award through his short film called PRALAYA. The film, which was his passion project and his directorial debut, was produced with the help of his team which was comprised of Keviinraj, Shweetha and Dineshvarkumar, alongside other university students and emerging filmmakers under the creative company, NonTypical Productions. Layered with Hindu symbolism and literature, the film was centred around a family conflict resulting from power and greed.

UTAR congratulates the five students on their amazing achievement in securing their awards in such a reputable competition.

Victor Chen (right) receiving his award

Varten receiving his award