Asia-Europe Short Film Contest | Winners

Over 100 young filmmakers from about 30 countries took part in an international short films contest organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation and NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia. Five winners will be flown to Singapore to receive prizes from Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on 17 May 2012.

[caption id="attachment_22167" align="alignnone" width="474" caption="Extract from one of the winning short films, "Postcards from Lisbon""][/caption]

To mark the occasion of its 15th anniversary, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) organised the Asia-Europe Short Films Contest, inviting young filmmakers, film enthusiasts and students from 46 ASEM countries to express their ideas of Asia-Europe relations through a short, up-to-3 minute long film of any format. The films cover topics such as culture, arts, environment, education and individual relationships.

“Film is a wonderful medium to showcase the beauty and diversity of cultures, while highlighting the similarities to bring two regions closer together. It was a challenge for the jury members to choose the winning films from so many good submissions,” shared jury member Mr Burke, Chair of the Department of Graduate Film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia. Other jury members included Mr Daniel Yun, founder and CEO of movie company Homerun Asia, and Ms Natacha Devillers, producer of film company Les Petites Lumières. They chose four short films that best communicate and represent the Asia-Europe connections theme. The fifth winner was chosen through public voting on Facebook.

Over the next two weeks, the five winners will be featured on film.culture360.org. The first featured filmmaker is Pedro Miguel Resende.

Film: Postcards from Lisbon

Portuguese-born filmmaker Pedro Miguel Resende started his career working in public relations and strategic communication until he discovered himself as a storyteller. He travelled extensively across Europe, worked in Ljubljana and Berlin. Currently he spends most of his time between Austin and Lisbon developing scripts and projects that he believes are worth telling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC__H8rxFc4&feature=player_embedded

Through his film for the Asia-Europe Short Films Contest, he shared a story about his city, Lisbon. It is expressed from an outsider’s perspective who is seeing and experiencing it. However his film is not just about a Mongolian young struggling migrant living in Lisbon but about all those migrants who travel places with complete different cultures, facing the fears, hopes, dreams and all the awe that comes with it.

In discussing about the connections between Asia and Europe, Resende comments:

“I think it's growing by the minute due to the ability that we now have to communicate and express our culture trough technology. Nowadays the gap between cultures has diminished and so are the stereotypes created throughout centuries of misinformation.”

[caption id="attachment_22823" align="alignnone" width="518" caption="Pedro Resende, one of the short film contest winners"][/caption]

Mr Resende, Ms Ibtisem Ben Nassib (Malaysia), Mr Lorenzo Ciani (Italy), Mr Riyanto Lasmana (Indonesia) and Mr David Saputro Sugianto (Indonesia) will enjoy the winning prize of a two-day filmmaking workshop at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia while in Singapore. The winner of the ASEM prize, Mr Resende, will also receive SGD5,000.

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