Plenty on offer at Borneo Eco Film Fest
Kota Kinabalu: Visitors will be able to enjoy a three-day festival featuring art, exhibitions, workshops and free talks at the 2017 Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF).
The film festival promises a fun, informative and interactive weekend for all at Suria Sabah’s fifth and sixth floor from Sept 22-24.
Programme Director Melissa Leong said this year’s programme includes the first ever BEFF Eco Art Carnival, wax-straw making workshop, green storytelling for children and panel sessions.
“The Eco Art Carnival features the collaborative work of artists who will be showcasing eco-themed art installations which is a great opportunity to check out and purchase the art and craftwork of local craftmakers and artisans,” she said.
Three main art groups will be participating, namely Persatuan Seni Visual Sabah (PSVS), Decorative Art and Craft Club and the collective from University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF).
One of the artistic highlights in BEFF this year is an Orang Utan Art Installation, called “Love Me, Love My Home” featuring painted portraits of Sabah’s iconic primate.
These portraits, which are also for sale will be hung on tree branches along the corridor leading to the venue, symbolically replicating the degraded habitat of the Orang Utan and visitors are invited to write and hang their eco-friendly pledge on these branches.
PSVS spokesperson and local artist Christianne Goonting, explained that this installation will serve as a reminder that humans must learn to sustainably co-exist with our natural surroundings.
“We must acknowledge the fact that our world supports a huge variety of life and we need to respect this.
We need to share and live together and not rob the animal kingdom of their natural habitat,” she said.
Meanwhile, children aged seven and above are invited to join a free wax straw-making workshop on Sunday, Sept 24.
Conducted by Carolyn Lau, founder of the citizen-led initiative ‘Tak Nak Straw!’ the workshop aims to encourage people to explore alternatives to plastic straws.
“It seems like such a small thing but single-use plastic straws are really bad for the environment.
It takes hundreds of years to break down. They fill up landfills and end up in waterways and the ocean, which then endangers our marine life,” explained Melissa.
“This year, we are screening a film called ‘Straws’ which shows why we need to rethink the habit of using plastic straws.
‘Straws’ will be screened followed by the wax straw-making workshop on Sunday, 12.30pm, Sept 24.
Additionally, there will be free talks and panel sessions where members of the public can interact with experts and engage in discussion on the various environmental and social issues featured in this year’s film line-up.
This year, there will be a special talk on Mount Kinabalu by The Sabah Society, a panel on access to education for underprivileged children and a light-hearted session on the pursuit of happiness and living a positive life by Dr. Sivakumar Kumaresan.
The three-day festival is an annual non-profit event celebrating Borneo’s biocultural diversity through showcasing environmental films and nurturing local community filmmaking.
Source: Daily Express
