Penang Shorts

Hi Penang! 8 mins | Hokkien, English | Director : Ian Cho

Hi Penang follows three animated characters as they journey through Penang’s cultural landmarks, local cuisine, and scenic landscapes. Blending 3D animation with live-action footage, the film celebrates the island’s rich heritage and invites audiences to experience Penang through a playful and heartfelt adventure.

那些閃閃發亮的東西 Cha Bute Mening (Shiny Little Things) 10 mins 40 secs | Director : Raito Low Jing-Yi

The more we seek commonalities between cultures, the more we amplify their differences. Seeing the silhouette of home from afar is no coincidence; nostalgia begins with our departure and helps us rediscover our context. A hundred years ago, Baba-Nyonya tiles and Sarawak indigenous ceramic beads arrived with ocean currents. Through cultural fusion, our imagination of home expands, becoming rich and diverse. As we travel, foreign lands gradually take the shape of home.

There be Dragons 4 mins 23 secs | Malay, English | Director : Bam Stowe, Hanna Adcock & Loni

Drawn from spontaneous conversations with three-year-old Loni, this intimate short film enters the private logic of early childhood. Against the landscapes and cultures of Penang, Loni’s fascination with dragons opens onto quieter questions about belonging, absence and the world’s children build when the real one feels difficult.

Echoes From The Shore 6 mins 15 secs | Malay, English | Director : Chong Kok Choon

Late into the night, a father sang into a cassette recorder—dreams he'd abandon for life's demands. Decades later, his son Taka retraces those memories in the coastal villages that shaped their family: how music connects generations, how traditions adapt, and how the soul of the fishing village still echoes today.

Beats of Fire 15 mins | English | Director : Sashwin Chandrasegeran

This documentary is about the old Indian musical instrument, Urumi Melam, and the people who are keeping them alive. It shows their struggles and hard work to protect the legacy of Indian music in Malaysia. Through their stories, the documentary highlights how these instruments are not just about music but about culture, tradition, and identity.

Chilli, Garlic and Onion 9 mins | Penang Hokkien | Director : Kent Tan *Subtitle: English

A mysterious teenager leaves the city for the countryside, silently handing every stranger a chili, garlic clove, and red onion. His wordless journey sparks curiosity. As he wanders, he searches for answers, inner peace, or perhaps a place where he can finally become one with the sky.

Tutur Lumpur 14 mins 4 secs | Indonesia | Director : Gladhys Elliona *Subtitle: Malay, English

Fish-cleaning women telling history and developmental shifts in the coast of Lumpur, the last fishing village in Gresik, East Java. Their story is accompanied by daily resilience montages of traditional fishermen who are increasingly pressured by factories and its waste; a real visual juxtaposition from the direct causes of extractivism.

Old Leaves 6 mins | Hokkien | Director : Bernard Lim *Subtitle: Malay, English

A portrait of two grandmothers living their extraordinary ordinary lives, reflecting their pasts and finding beauty in the everyday. They are brought together by a shared love for one simple food.

Lompang 11 mins 30 secs | Malay | Director : Muhammad Hafiy Bin Sarimi *Subtitle: English

In his 80s, where most people are chilling and resting, enjoying their retirement days, my grandpa is still making hundreds of kueh every day. He wakes up late at night to bake and early in the morning to sell. This documentary is about finding out the reason behind his love and passion for making kueh that drive his everyday life.

Silent Threads 无声的牵挂 17 mins 33 secs | Mandarin | Director : Joyce Li *Subtitle: English

Silent Threads follows Lia, a deaf girl of Chinese and Iban heritage, seeking acceptance within a divided family. When her estranged grandmother is left in her care after an accident, Lia responds to rejection with compassion. Through silence and resilience, an unexpected bond emerges, transcending words, generations, and cultural boundaries.

The Manggis in Ah Gong’s Hands 17 mins 33 secs | Mandarin | Director : Loo Yuan Ling *Subtitle: English

At the beginning of the global pandemic lockdown, One traditional Chinese grandfather is suddenly given the duty to look after his mixed race grandson, due to his son and daughter-in-law being doctors. Clashes arise due to age differences, religious differences, traditional vs modern, experience vs naive. Finally, at the end of the story, the grandfather learns to put aside his prejudices when he realizes that his grandson reminds him so much of his own son.

Of Womb and Tomb 18 mins 58 secs | Javanese, Indonesian | Director : Destian Rendra *Subtitle: English

Hayat (35) and his heavily pregnant wife, Sekar (30), reside in an illegal housing built around old Chinese cemeteries. Their quiet life is disrupted when Suwargono (83), an elderly man, arrives in search of his mother’s grave—believing it lies directly beneath their house. As Hayat scrambles to conceal the truth and the birth of his child is approaching, he is pulled into a profound inner struggle.

In Search of Silence in the Sea 11 mins 39 secs | Malay, English | Director : Ahmad Uzeir Farhan *Subtitle: Malay, English

Being told there is a sense of peace under the sea, Uzeir takes on scuba diving for the first time. Speaking to his father throughout his journey, Uzeir faces emotional and physical challenges in order to find that silence within a world of noise.

TRACE / US 20 mins | English | Director : Leysha Al-yahya and Theyvapaalan S. Jayaratnam

TRACE/US is a video essay project that hopes to document the journey of two artists as they embark on a journey to find avatars of people they have loved and lost. Aleysha searches for the man who would eventually become her grandfather while Theyvapaalan searches for the ghost of her father.

Throughout These Cages 16 mins | Indonesian | Director : Aaron Pratama *Subtitle: English

Asun is about to start renovating their old house because of a will from his father, who passed away years ago. His mom, Aling, isn’t on board with the renovation. It has something to do with her unresolved past that she's kept buried in that house.

Drifting, Like A Jellyfish 12 mins 12 secs | English, Malay | Director : Maheshwari Manogaran *Subtitle: English, Malay

A young filmmaker’s back injury forces her to stop a 15‑year addiction. As she battles withdrawal, she rediscovers her passion for filmmaking — and learns that healing isn’t about fighting the current but learning to drift.

当时只道是寻常 (I Thought It Was Ordinary) 12 mins 46 secs | Mandarin and Hokkien | Director : Orlando Loo *Subtitle: Chinese, English

A game as old as time, faded into the ashes of youth. Travel through this three part memory as a young boy discovers the decay of his grandfather as they take part in an old game of chinese chess. With every move he makes, he takes a step closer towards realising the extent of time. This film will explore themes of love, loss and what it really means to grow old in a optimistic way.

Pertanyaan 7 mins 17 secs | Malay | Director : Fire *Subtitle: English

In order to find great content for their social media page, Amir and Lan, two young content creators, wander around Georgetown to interview the locals to get a real and genuine perspective on life. After a while, they found a homeless man who captured their attention with some shocking truth that will change their life.

后来啊，他们都说我走丢了 The Forgotten Promise 11 mins 9 secs | Mandarin and English | Director : Chew Zi Ning *Subtitle: English

Most people believe abandonment happens in an instant, but the cruelest betrayal begins quietly at home. Through high-concept personification, this film follows a "mute family member" experiencing unspoken exclusion, revealing that true abandonment is not just walking away, but the decision to stop caring in one's heart.

Bisu 7 mins 55 secs | Malay | Director : Adib Idlan bin Rosli *Subtitle: English, Malay

After the death of their friend Haris, Adam continues to believe that Haris is still alive. When Badrul reveals the truth, Adam remembers the moment they abandoned Haris during a bullying incident. Haunted by guilt, Adam decides to seek justice, despite Badrul’s fear of the consequences.

Dia 8 mins 14 secs | Malay | Director : Dhia Firdaus *Subtitle: English

DIA follows a reclusive young woman whose encounter with a gentle butcher at a wet market triggers fear, vulnerability, and paranoia. As reality blurs with anxiety, she must confront the walls she has built around herself and find the courage to let someone in.