KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian-made animated short film Walinong Sari has been shortlisted to screen and compete at numerous film festivals.
The film's official Facebook page revealed today that it would premiere at the New York International Short Film Festival, Sea Of Art Film Festival in Norway, Los Angeles International Film Festival and the Oniros Film Awards New York among others.
Walinong Sari has also won Best Soundtrack at the New York International Film Festival.
Based on a popular legend from ancient Pahang, the film tells the story of Walinong Sari, a brave and independent princess whose father the Bendahara of Pahang accepts a proposal from the Melaka ruler to marry her.
Frustrated, Walinong Sari requests for a final trip down the Pahang River before she is to wed.
On her journey, the princess experiences a series of events that end up changing the course of her life.
Walinong Sari director Eugene Foo, a lecturer at the Faculty of Creative Industries at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) said that social media played a major role in the development of his film.
"In the midst of the pandemic, I was trying to put together an animation team to create this film," he said in a news report yesterday.
"We ended up assembling a group of artists and animators consisting of my students and freelancers."
The main characters of the film were voiced by notable actors and actresses such as Nadiq Aqilah, Bront Palarae and Tony Eusoff.
Inspired by the mechanisms used in creating Wayang Kulit, Foo said that puppeteering was a key feature of the characters' movements.
"The entire film was made from home. It kept all of us going through those long days of isolation," he said.
Foo thanked scriptwriter Honey Ahmad and author Ninot Aziz for their assistance in creating Walinong Sari.
"It's important that we retell and preserve Malaysia's rich folklore for the younger generation, and come up with quality films to promote them."