KUALA LUMPUR: A Bidayuh animated film about the coming of age of good friends won Best Film By Popular Jury in the primary school category of the Alvorada International Schools Film Festival recently.
Titled Batuh Bijanji (Promise Stone), the 35-second film was made by Macgres Sawet and Nabiatul Dania Zulfiqa Mohd Zulfadhli, two Year Five pupils from Sekolah Kebangsaan Temong, Serian, Sarawak.
Macgres and Nabiatul Dania were guided by their teachers Wan Zulfadli Ad-Dinnie Wan Azmi and Mohd Reduan Patah.
"We are so happy for Macgres and Nabiatul Dania, they really worked hard for it," said Wan Zulfadli in a recent news report.
Wan Zulfadli added that they took 10 days to produce the film using the rotoscoping technique that animators often used to trace over motion picture footage, frame-by-frame, and come up with realistic action.
The project began last year when the pupils attended a digital storytelling animation workshop organised by the Education Technology Division of Sarawak's Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry, and the Sarawak Multimedia Authority.
Wan Zulfadli said that the project came under their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Club and was also supervised by the school's senior assistant Stanley Ngawah and approved by its headmaster Cleveland Raden.
Batuh Bijanji tells the story of best friends Bibi and Sarah, who first met when Sarah was grieving over the loss of a loved one.
The two girls promised each other to maintain their friendship like the Batu Seremban stones in their hands.
The festival was held online and voting was held from Nov 17 to 28 on the festival's YouTube channel.
