AAYFF2020 Hong Kong - Cancelled

Dear Filmmakers and friends of the AAYFF,

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization, AAYFF has no option but to cancel the upcoming edition of AAYFF Hong Kong. Several factors informed this decision, including: abiding concern for the safety of international attendees; the logistical challenges facing film students and teachers due to school closures across Asia; and the difficulties involved in planning international travel, all due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. 

Tessie Word, Co-Chair of the Curriculum of Film ESF and the current Co-Director of AAYFF 2020 says: Our sympathies are with those affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak around the world. The decision to cancel AAYFF Hong Kong was an extremely difficult one for us. We explored every other possible option before doing so, including postponing or creating an online only festival, gathering input from the AAYFF team of teachers, students and sponsors. We are very aware of the important role that the festival plays within the region's cultural scene of encouraging and supporting quality student film work. Our team dedicated extensive time and effort to ensure that the festival in June would be a success. 

Sadly, the outbreak and sudden rapid spread of the novel coronavirus dramatically changed the situation. We are deeply grateful to our participants, partners, and friends all over the world, and especially in Hong Kong, who have committed their time and energies to this most worthy event, the largest student film festival in Asia. We hope to support the festival in future years.

Thank you to all the filmmakers who submitted their films this year and to anyone who was involved in production or planning a film, we hope you won't be discouraged. All films will be admissible to the next edition of the festival, news of which will be shared once we have made the necessary arrangements with our new hosts. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions.

Best wishes,

The AAYFF Team

Across Asia Film Festival
www.aayff.com
#AAYFF2020

Tickets for the #AAYFF2019 Gala Screening now available!

Get your #AAYFF2019 Screening tickets!

Dear Filmmakers and film fans,

Tickets are now available to attend the #AAYFF2019 Gala Screening! This event will celebrate filmmakers and their contribution to this year's festival.

Join us for the red carpet, dinner, and screening of shortlisted films judged by an international panel of experts. Winners of each category will be announced on the night.

Reserve your tickets today!

To reserve your tickets, please click here.

The Gala Screening is free to attend. This is a very popular event and there are limited places available. We strongly encourage you to reserve your tickets at your earliest convenience so you don't miss out. 

#AAYFF2019 shortlist and prizes

The shortlisted films have been announced and shared with filmmakers. You can also review the #AAYFF2019 shortlisted selection via our website where this year's prizes are also available to view. 

Event details

Saturday 20th April 2019
5:45pm - 9:15pm 

The Theater
International School Ho Chi Minh City (Secondary campus)
01 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Dress code: Formal/Hollywood Glam

Travelling to Vietnam? Let us help  

If you will be travelling to attend the festival from overseas and would like support in arranging accommodation, please contact us by e-mailing info@aayff.com. We're happy to help! 

Xin Chao from Vietnam!

Dear Filmmakers and film fans,

The Across Asia Youth Film Festival (AAYFF) is back! We are already tremendously excited and busy planning the third edition of the festival which will be held on 20th April 2019.

This year’s festival is hosted by the International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), a dynamic IB World school. Celebrating 25 years of learning, ISHCMC is proud to be the most established international school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ISHCMC have followed the AAYFF since its inception with students submitting films to both editions of the festival.

We are also pleased to confirm HBO Asia are continuing to support young filmmakers across Asia by sponsoring AAYFF 2019.

Important Dates #AAYFF2019

1 JANUARY 2019 — Submissions Open

30th MARCH 2019 — Closing Date for Submissions

8th APRIL 2019 – Announcing Shortlisted Films

20th APRIL 2019 – Industry Experience Day & Gala Screening Event

Entry Categories

We aim to be as inclusive as possible to encourage young filmmakers from across Asia to participate in the festival. This year, we have expanded the age guidelines from 9 years old and reviewed the entry categories.

Be Social & Share #AAYFF2019

You can engage with other filmmakers and film fans from across Asia by using our hashtag #AAYFF2019.

Visit, follow and share our stories via various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Contact us

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with the AAYFF Team. We’ll be happy to support you or your schools participation in this year’s festival!

Best wishes,

The AAYFF Team

Across Asia Film Festival
www.aayff.com
#AAYFF2019

Submissions are Open!

You can now submit your film for AAYFF 2019 via our website and by clicking the below.

Submit your film now!

ISHCMC

The AAYFF moves to Vietnam!

We're tremendously excited to announce that after two incredible years in Singapore the Across Asia Youth Film Festival will be moving to Vietnam. Tanglin Trust School has played a pivotal role in establishing an event that has already done so much to promote student film and creativity, but now the time is right for the AAYFF to head out across Asia.

The third Across Asia Youth Film Festival #AAYFF2019 will be proudly hosted by the International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), a dynamic IB World school with a rich 24 years of history. ISHCMC have followed the AAYFF since it's inception with students submitting films to both editions of the festival. With an ethos that promotes creativity, collaboration and innovation we're looking forward to seeing how the AAYFF evolves within the school's community.

As well as acknowledging the Tanglin community, we also wish to wholeheartedly thank our wonderful partners HBO Asia, Disney and Mediacorp for supporting and nurturing the AAYFF in its early years. We're sad to leave Mediacorp behind in Singapore but ecstatic to announce that Disney and HBO Asia will continue to support the festival. We also look forward to embracing opportunities to involve the media and creative industry in Vietnam.

Important dates for next year's festival will be announced in the new academic year, so have a great Summer holiday and see you soon!

Best wishes,

The AAYFF Team

Across Asia Film Festival
www.aayff.com
#AAYFF2019

Across Asia Youth Film Festival article courtesy of Tanglin Trust School

"If you want to understand the kind of issues that are on young people's minds, watch their films."David Procter, AAYFF Director

Few would have a better insight into that than David, who watched over 300 films from 62 different schools and 14 countries in his role as Director of the Across Asia Youth Film Festival 2018. He describes gaining a real sense of Asia through the eyes of 10-21 year olds, with cultures throughout the region represented in both vignettes and portraits of people's lives. Often cathartic, the subject matter covered issues very personal to being a young person today, including academic pressure, body image, the impact of screen time, personal relationships, as well as wider themes including conservation, pollution and poverty.

“AAYFF is an opportunity for young people to tell a story from their own perspective, and with their skill in communicating so honestly and personally; in taking ownership of their narrative and putting it across with their specific style of storytelling, their work is uniquely compelling.
”

— David Procter, AAYFF Director

As a teacher who has invested a great deal in developing audio-visual literacy through filmmaking at Tanglin Trust School, David understands the passion and determination it takes to tell a story through film. With the young filmmakers giving so much of themselves, the AAYFF in return gives them the broadest possible audience for their work, with many opportunities to connect with their audience, media professionals and peers.

“The film industry is all about knowing the right people, networking if you will. But I wouldn’t say that I network as such, I go to experience, to meet and learn from others who are in the same sort of area. The AAYFF is one of the best [ways of doing this] for people like me, in my opinion. A whole Industry Day to get to learn from the pros, also to have time to talk to the other filmmakers and learn from them too... the biggest benefit is just simply having a lot of filmmakers in one place. ”

— Ewan Windebank, Best AAYFF Film 2018 and Best 13-15 Age Group Winner

From the connections formed between each other and industry professionals at the Industry Day, to the live audience reaction at the Gala Screening and the feedback from the judging panel, it is clear that the festival format puts young filmmakers front and centre of the dialogue they instigate by expressing themselves through film.

“I see so much passion in the works that you have submitted. I had fun watching them too. Mediacorp wants to work with young talent, we believe this is an area that we can play an active role too.”

— Doreen Neo, Chief Content Officer, Mediacorp

The AAYFF would not have been possible without the support of the festival partners, Tanglin's neighbours at one-north – Disney, HBO and Mediacorp. The 2018 judging panel included Tom Batchelor, Disney's General Manager of Studio Entertainment for South East Asia; Garon De Silva, Vice President, Original Productions at HBO Asia; and Doreen Neo, Chief Content Officer at Mediacorp.

“These young film makers are truly inspiring, and we thank them for sharing their vision.”

— Garon De Silva, Vice President, Original Productions at HBO Asia

The addition of the Industry Day this year gave shortlisted filmmakers an insight into a range of pre-production, production and post-production procedures. Presentations by Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm introduced the students to the development of characters from initial conceptual sketches to the screen, using examples from Marvel Studios and Star Wars, brought to life with CGI techniques such as motion capture.

Disney provided the students with a detailed picture of the business of film distribution and marketing using the recent 'Avengers: Infinity War' as a case study. During the HBO sessions students had the opportunity to observe VFX, CGI and editing in situ in the suites of Infinite Studios and tour a working set of Mediacorp's long running TV production 'Tanglin'.

Now in its second year, both the event and the entrants have built on the last. It has been very satisfying for all involved to see both the continuity and development. The AAYFF 2017 filmmakers set a benchmark for quality, which the 2018 entrants have expanded upon in interesting, surprising ways. Submissions were technically more advanced and exhibited a greater range and depth of content. The Industry Day also enabled this year's filmmakers to get to know each other and ultimately support each other's work during the screening.

“After the bar was set so high last year, the quality of films at this year’s AAYFF was truly impressive, with a technical brilliance that cannot be underestimated. Drone shots, special effects, sounds mixing – the entries were incredible. The future is certainly bright for Asian creativity. ”

— Tom Batchelor, General Manager of Studio Entertainment, Disney Studios, Southeast Asia

So what then, is in store for AAYFF 2019? Having founded the festival and directed it for the past two years, David can be satisfied that the vision for the event – to provide a platform for young filmmakers' creativity and to generate international dialogue through their films – has been realised. By connecting young filmmakers, industry partners and educators throughout Asia, the AAYFF has brought together a community that is passionate about film; an IRL forum that should continue to grow and develop going forward.

Before handing over the reins to another school next year, David credits the wonderful community here at Tanglin, including the Management Team, Film Department, Art Department, Events, Marketing and Communications, Theatre and EBT, as well as Catering and Operations, for working together with such energy, creativity and focus to bring the AAYFF vision to life.

“A truly amazing evening and an incredible journey for the filmmakers and Tanglin.”

— Allan Forbes, Head of Senior School, Tanglin Trust School

“It was wonderful to watch the films, and to feel part of this exciting event at my child’s school. The AAYFF made me realise what amazing facilities and courses my child has to look forward to as she moves through the years at Tanglin. ”

— Infant Parent, Tanglin Trust School

The 2nd ACROSS ASIA YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL 2018 is here!

The 2nd Edition of the Across Asia Youth Film Festival is here! The shortlisted filmmakers have started arriving from across Asia and will tomorrow take part in the #AAYFF2018 Industry Experience day organised by our partners at Disney, HBO Asia and Mediacorp.  The morning session will feature presentations by LucasFilm and Disney at the Sandcrawler and in the afternoon tours of the facilities at Infinite Studios organised by HBO and Mediacorp.

Venues for the #AAYFF2018 Industry Day - The Sandcrawler, Infinite Studios, The Moot@Tanglin Trust School.

During Friday's Red carpet screening at the Moot, Tanglin Trust School, the students' films will be screened before a packed audience and our esteemed jury. This year 33 films from 20 schools will join the competition for 17 prizes which will be awarded on the night. 

✦Tanglin Trust School, Singapore ✦ NIST International School, Thailand ✦ Harrow International School, Bangkok ✦ Dover Court International School, Singapore ✦ Canadian International School, Singapore ✦ Shanghai United International School Gubei Campus ✦ British International School, Shanghai ✦ Bangkok Prep, Thailand ✦ IGB International School, Malaysia ✦ Rosaryhill Secondary School, Hong Kong ✦ International School of Beijing ✦ School Of The Arts (SOTA), Singapore ✦ United Nations International School (UNIS) Hanoi  ✦ Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok ✦ King George V School, Hong Kong ✦ QSI Shenzhen, China ✦ UWCSEA East Campus, Singapore ✦ International School of Bangkok ✦ International Bilingual School at Hsinchu-Science-Park ✦ LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore ✦

We will also be featuring films during the interval on the live stream which didn't quite make the shortlist, so be sure to share with your students and friends. 

✦ Yew Chung International School Shanghai ✦ Brent International School Subic, Philippines ✦ Tanglin Trust School ✦ IGB International School, Malaysia ✦ International School Ho Chi Minh City ✦ International School of Beijing ✦ Seijo Gakuen Junior High School and High School, Japan ✦ Nanjing International School, China ✦ NPS International School, Singapore ✦ Shekou International School, China ✦

Click the image to access the live stream.

We hope you enjoy the show!

Kind regards,

The AYYFF Team

TICKETS FOR THE AAYFF GALA SCREENING 2018 ARE NOW ON SALE!

Last year's AAYFF2017 screening scenes

The AAYFF is hosted by Tanglin Trust School from the heart of the one-north media district in Singapore and is wonderfully supported by HBO Asia, Disney and Mediacorp.

Join us at the Red Carpet Gala Screening where the AAYFF Official Selection 2018 will be screened in front of a live audience and panel of esteemed judges from HBO, Disney and Mediacorp. Winners of each category will be announced on the night.

HBO Asia will again be covering the Gala Screening event for broadcast across Asia!
—
Friday 4th May
 5.30 - 10pm
The Moot, Tanglin Trust School
(Level 5, The Nixon Building)
—
Dress Code – Formal / Hollywood Glam
—
Seats are $10
—
CLICK TO BOOK YOUR SEATS

Tanglin Trust student takes on AAYFF design for final IB Visual Art project

Julius Villar, a Year 13 IB Diploma student made the most of Tanglin Trust School hosting the 2nd edition of the AAYFF by using the festival and its values to inform his process portfolio work and exhibition. His final work is currently being exhibited with the accompanying artist's statement.

AAYFF (Series)

Silk-screen print and digital

AAYFF is a design made to promote the Across Asia Youth Film Festival, and the underlying themes of wonder and imagination, predominant in youth. The interconnecting lines represent both the concept of international coexistence across Asia, and local Singaporean culture, as a representation of the local MRT network. Bold primary and secondary colours are used practically, to capture a viewer's attention, as well as symbolically, to capture the essence of a lively, colourful youth.

JV March, 2018

AAYFF 2018 Prizes announced!

Prizes will be awarded from the Official Selection by our jury on the evening of the screening event at Tanglin Trust School, Singapore.

Best AAYFF Film 2018: S$1000 & Trophy

Best Film (10-12 age group): S$250 & Trophy
Best Film (13-15 age group): S$250 & Trophy
Best Film (16-18 age group): S$250 & Trophy
Best Film (19-21age group): S$250 & Trophy

Best Documentary: S$150 & Trophy
Best Animation: S$150 & Trophy
Best Horror: S$150 & Trophy
Best Experimental: S$150 & Trophy
Best Drama: S$150 & Trophy
Best Music Video: S$150 & Trophy
Best Short Short: $150 & Trophy

Best Director: S$150 & Trophy  
Best Editing: S$150 &  Trophy
Best Cinematography:  S$150 & Trophy
Best Sound:  S$150 & Trophy
Best Special Effects:  S$150 & Trophy

Audience Award: S$250 & Trophy 

The Audience Award is voted for by the public over a period of a week following the screening event. All amounts listed are in Singapore Dollars

Introducing Ellie and Carl, AAYFF Student communications

My name is Ellie and I am the Head Student Communications Manager for the Across Asia Youth Film Festival 2018. Along with my assistant Carl, we are in charge of managing the ‘aayfilmfest’ Instagram account and we would love to showcase the production process of you making your films.

We're looking for behind the scenes photos or clips to share with our followers! If you already have an Instagram account please follow the AAYFF on@AAYFilmFest and tag your pics/clips with #AAYFF2018 OR If you send a clip/photo to info@aayff.com with the name of your film and shooting location we can post for you!

For a little background information, I joined the AAYFF team last year and led the Social Media Campaign. I created the Instagram account and posted photos and footage from the actual event throughout the night as well as interviewed filmmakers. I really enjoyed being a part of the event last year as it was great to see different students across Asia coming together to celebrate the creativity of avid, youthful storytellers. When I heard that the event was happening again this year, I was very eager to be a part of the organisational process again and I have been lucky enough to have been given this higher role in this event. I currently do A-Level Media Studies and will be posting lots of photos of our production process for our coursework to show you guys our behind the scenes perspective!

We really look forward to seeing the films that you produce (for those of who are shortlisted) and we really hope that you keep in contact with us leading up to the event because we would love to see some behind the scene clips of what you are filming.

Hope to see you all on May the 4th!
Best wishes,

Ellie and Carl

Across Asia Film Festival 2018
www.aayff.com
#AAYFF2018