Category: News

Published: Monday, 27 August 2018 20:05

Movie still of a scene from “Wetlands in my Heart” which tells the story of a little boy Chan who grew up and earned a living in a wetlands ecosystem.

Chan, an old man now, tells the story of when he was a child with his friends playing in nature. As he grew older he worked in the paddy fields and earned his living as an oyster and fish farmer. This story tells the important of realizing the interdependence between men and nature, in which nature provided the necessary resources for Chan and his family to live harmoniously.

This must-watch animation, “Wetlands in my Heart”, is directed by animator Lilian Fu and produced for the Hong Kong Wetlands Park and will be screened at the Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) which starts on Monday (22nd October) with American director Eliana Alvarez Martinez’s documentary, “The Spirit of Discovery” at the Black Box, Publika Solaris.

 “Spirit of Discovery” is a documentary by American director Eliana Alvarez Martinez about 97 year old Professor Walter H Munk the greatest living oceanographer, who embarks on an expedition to Cabo Pulmo, Mexico to show the courage and risks it takes to discover and find flying “Devil” rays, except he didn’t find any, and this was a sign that something is wrong.

In its 11th year, KLEFF 2018 will feature close to 100 environment-themed films from over 38 countries. A festival for all Malaysians that isn’t afraid to challenge its audience, it offers 11 official selections, with films that focus on this year’s festival theme – “Forests, Water and Climate Change”.

Fadly Bakhtiar, festival director of KLEFF

“The core nature of the festival is about highlighting the environmental chaos that’s happening today in the planet and to inspire the audience to take actions to address the chaos,” Fadly Bakhtiar, its festival director, explained in an interview.

“There’s definitely very calculated curating and programming, but it’s also bringing so many different kinds of storytelling and image-making together.” The aim is also to encourage more Malaysian film makers to be part of the global environmental story telling fraternity.

“It’s the eleventh year we’re finding these real strong works by Malaysian filmmakers that are kind of levelling the playing field,” Fadly said.

A scene from “The Drip-A Wettish Rale”, a stop-frame animation exploring the issues that our water faces from pollution and misuse – from Source to Sea – all told in 5 minutes by a pencil, a brush and a hand. A serious subject told in a humorous and accessible style to reach audiences of all ages and not just the environmentally aware. Written, animated, filmed and voiced by Tim Britton, writer, performer and artist with the multi-media company Forkbeard Fantasy

This year’s festival has a special curated program on environmental films for children.

“We thought it would be interesting to curate a special children’s environmental film screening program so that parents can enjoy watching the films with their children. After all, the festival is about encouraging the public to make sustainable changes in their lives and watching films and having conversations together as a family on topics like environment can be a good start for many,” added Fadly.  

If you are heading to the festival with your family and children to enjoy a weekend of awesome green vibes, do check out some of the children’s environmental films lined up over the weekend. The Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival will take place from October 22nd to 29th at Publika Solaris. Apart from the film screenings, the festival offers a Green Market promoting sustainable consumption and production (Sustainable Development Goal 12), educational workshops and activities, as well as performances by local musicians and artists. More information about the festival can be found at www.kleff.my.

SCREENING SCHEDULE

FRIDAY SESSION 1 (6.30 – 8.30 pm)

SATURDAY SESSION 1 (12 – 2 pm)

SATURDAY SESSION 3 (6 – 8pm)

To find out more about the screening times and schedule, click here: https://kleff.my/kleff-2018-announces-this-years-film-screening-schedule/