For the second consecutive year, THREE DCI student short films, along with others made by students from Kolej IGS, Politeknik Brunei, and Universiti Teknologi Brunei, were selected into the Brunei Special Programme of the 21st edition of Mini Film Festival (MFF), which will take place on 18 and 19 July, 2025 in Kuching, Malaysia.

According to the programmer of this year’s Brunei Special Programme, Tara Esa, who is a final-year DCI student at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and in her second year to curate the Brunei Special Programme for MFF: “In line with this year’s festival theme ‘Reelvolution’, I have named this programme Bayang Brunei (Reflections of Brunei). It is a space to reflect on how Bruneian identity continues to evolve and find its voice through film.”

The three selected DCI short films are: A stop-motion animation short Brunei in 1980s (dir. Najwa Amzah), short fiction film Smile Nur, Smile (dir. Syahirah Suhairi), and short documentary film Daya Kreasi Seni (dir. Nurul Ridzwan). They were produced by a DCI graduate in 2024, and a group of DCI sophomores and freshers, respectively, in 2024 and 2025.

“As someone who works behind the scenes in production design, I have come to appreciate the power of these visual choices. They shape mood, meaning, and memory, and they often speak louder than words. In many ways, they represent a quiet revolution where Bruneian filmmakers are crafting bolder, more intentional worlds on screen.” Tara continues: “As part of this ‘reelvolution,’ I believe it is essential to make space for the next generation of storytellers who are reshaping the way Brunei is seen through their own lens.”

Tara summarises: “In many ways, Bayang Brunei is my contribution to this year’s “Reelvolution”. It reflects my values as a creative and as someone who hopes to keep pushing for authentic, well-crafted, and culturally rooted Bruneian stories. I hope audiences watching these films will not only enjoy them, but also feel the details in the visuals, the language, and the subtle references that make each story uniquely ours.”

This is the second consecutive year that DCI short films shine in MFF, which is “the longest-running short film festivals in Malaysia”. Last year, another three DCI short films Love’s Detour: From Crush to Crash, Menguyung Masa, and Withering were selected into a special programme named ‘Through Bruneian Eyes’ under the inaugural Borneo Film category.

Looking forward, more DCI short films will be screening in another three film festivals across three ASEAN countries in the coming months of 2025. In particular, short film Smile Nur, Smile (2024, 9 min) has also been selected to be part of the Southeast Asian Shorts section in the 6th edition Painting with Light, Festival of International Films on Art, organised by National Gallery Singapore, which will take place 4-14 September, 2025. Painting with Light is the National Gallery’s film festival dedicated to the study and showcase of the moving images.

In addition, FOUR DCI short films Séance (2023, 3 min), Apathy (2024, 4 min), The Final Cut (2024, 7 min), and A Journey to Brasov (2023, 9 min), have been selected for the SX2025 Brunei Programme and will be screened during Minikino Film Week – Bali International Short Film Festival, 12-19 September, 2025.

Finally, three award-winning PSA works with SDG themes in last year’s 7th edition PRISM, Voice in the Trash (2024, 3 min), Save Water, Save Lives (2024, 4 min), and R.I.S.E. (River Improvement & Sustainable Ecosystems) (2024, 5 min), have been selected to be part of the 7th edition Dili International Film Festival (DIFF), which will take place from 25 September to 12 October, 2025 in Dili, Timor-Leste. The former two works were produced by two DCI undergrad students (MD Danish Tazim and Izzati Nawawi) and the latter was produced by a FASS PhD student Silas Emovwodo.