MIRI: Renowned Australian filmmaker Hollie Fifer held a workshop at Curtin University Malaysia at its recently launched film workshop series as part of its ‘Creative Hub in Borneo’ initiative.
The workshop was held in conjunction with the university’s upcoming Kenyalang Film Festival from May 10 to 11.
Fifer, who is the director of Australian Programmes at Doc Society, conducted the first workshop. Doc Society is a social entrepreneurship organisation founded in 2005 and has since supported the production of over 60 award-winning films.
The workshop was co-organised by the Freedom Film Network, an international community and engagement-driven network of social filmmakers.
Held in Cinema Lite, the Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences’ mini theatre, it was attended by about 60 Curtin Malaysia students, staff and members of the public, including some local filmmakers.
Fifer has produced several award-winning films such as The Opposition (2016), Very Impressive (2013), and Common Ground (2011) which were screened at Australian and international film festivals.
During the workshop, she talked about making an impact on society through documentaries and the importance of showing the content to the right audience.
She said documentaries must evoke emotions, adding that the higher the stake, the stronger the message will be.
Talking about her award-winning film ‘The Opposition’, Fifer said she chose a local to be the hero or main character because he had a need, which was to save his land and seek compensation from the company that wanted to build a five-star hotel on his land in Papua New Guinea.
“The stake of the story is high because the character would lose everything if he lost the court case, so he was the kind of character that I needed for this story,” she added.
Asked by a student what drove her to make the film and whether it made money, Fifer responded: “I dislike injustices, so I wanted to film it so that more people are aware of such issues. Although the documentary was not commercially profitable, I still enjoy my job and am always passionate about making more documentaries.”
Curtin Media and Communications Department’s programme coordinator Dr Ngu Ik Ying said the idea of running the film workshop scenes was to empower young film talents and foster creative collaborations between Borneo filmmakers and international film organisations.
“These workshops will allow in-depth interaction, and the audiences will learn more from experienced international filmmakers. This is a form of mentorship too,” Ngu said.
Corporate Screen and Public Relations student Noelle Liew Wen Xin said she picked up a few useful pointers from the workshop, especially on how to make documentaries appealing to audiences.
“I realised that getting the audience’s attention and making them listen to the message you want to convey is key in producing good documentary films,” she said.
