Malaysian Documentary On Rice Won Third Place In The ASEAN Documentary Film Category

From Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri Syed Izman HANOI, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysian film producer Richard Ung's documentary on rice won third place in the ASEAN Documentary Film category at the ASEAN Festival of Photos, Reportage, and Documentary Film 2015, here Tuesday. His documentary entitled 'Nourishing Asean Rice' was among the 15 documentaries shortlisted for the competition. He won a trophy, a certificate and cash, but the amount was not disclosed. Ung told Bernama, rice was the main food source of all ASEAN communities, and through his documentary he tried to reflect the bond of ASEAN nations through rice. "This little grain (rice) forms a common bond for the people of ASEAN, and I am proud to be able to produce such a documentary. I did not expect to gain an entry in the competition," he told Bernama when met after the award presentation at Au Co Art Centre, here Tuesday. Ung said he had received financial assistance in terms of a grant to come up with the documentary from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The 2015 festival was organised by Vietnam's Information and Communication Ministry with the theme 'The People in ASEAN Community', and is in its third year. The festival aims to promote ASEAN culture through photos, video reports and documentaries. Meanwhile, the Centre for Press and International Communications Cooperation Director-General Nguyen Truong Son said this year's festival saw an increase in participation with more than 1,000 photos and 113 documentaries being submitted. "Out of those numbers, only 62 photos and 15 documentaries were shorlisted, and judges even had a tough time to select," he said. Meanwhile, an entry submitted by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) received a consolation award in the photo category. -- BERNAMA