The main objective is to highlight important issues and create awareness among people about the importance of protecting nature for the next generation
By S BIRRUNTHA / Pic By www.kleff.my
THE annual International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) 2019 began its 12th installation last Friday at Taman Tugu Nursery with the theme “Climate Action…Now”.
This year’s theme explores the stories of people and organisations committed to creating maximum impact on sustainable development, says Fadly
KLEFF director Fadly Bakthiar said this year’s theme explores the stories of people and organisations committed to creating maximum impact on sustainable development.
“We are committed to bringing you the most enriching environmental film festival which brings forward the conversation and environmental movement of climate action.
“Our main objective is to highlight important issues and create awareness among people about the importance of protecting nature for the next generation.
“We just want more people to come and watch the films, so they will understand their role in the environmental movement,” he told reporters during the media briefing of KLEFF 2019 in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.
This year, KLEFF is expected to have about 80% occupancy.
Fadly added that so far, the festival had received a total of 233 submissions on environment-themed films from 48 countries and out of these, 86 films of various lengths and genres will be screened throughout the festival.
“There are five main categories of films — feature films, short films, documentaries, public service announcements and animations.
“Most of the films are about green technology and waste management. There are some films which showcase how scientists are doing their best to understand nature’s behaviour. “It is going to be very interesting and we hope that people can come, watch and learn at this film festival,” he said.
The festival features films that kindle important dialogues, traversing the relationship between humans and their environment by inspiring them to act on important environmental issues
To encourage local film productions, there will be a special award for independent and young filmmakers.
“I think the best thing about this film festival is that we have categorised the films for each session, so there will be a theme for each day such as deforestation, community empowerment, climate change and so on.
“So, when you refer to the schedule on our website, you will be able to read the synopsis and decide which theme and session you prefer,” Fadly said.
Among the key partners of this year’s KLEFF are EcoKnights, Kiehl’s Malaysia, DHL, BirdLife International, MY Forest Watch, Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) and the European Union (EU).
MNS president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail said this is the second year MNS has supported KLEFF and EcoKnights, who is also a stakeholder in MNS’s EU-funded MY Forest project.
“Through KLEFF, MY Forest can fulfil its tenet of capacity building of non-stake actors in forest advocacy,” he said.
The film festival will be happening at two separate events this year, from Oct 7 to 13, 2019.
The first event will commence at the International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia, KL Convention Centre from Oct 9 to 11, while the second will be at Publika, Solaris Dutamas, KL, from Oct 7 to 13.
People are advised to visit the KLEFF website to know more about ticket pricing, schedule, as well as the line-up of activities.
KLEFF is Malaysia’s first and longest-serving platform promoting sustainable living through showcasing environment-themed films, talks, exhibitions and other activities. The festival features films that kindle important dialogues, traversing the relationship between humans and their environment by inspiring them to act on important environmental issues.
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