AdminThe Raintown Short Film Competition 2026 has unveiled its top 20 finalists after receiving a record 152 submissions from filmmakers across Malaysia, highlighting the growing interest in short-form filmmaking and the expanding diversity of the country’s creative community.
Organised by the Raintown Film Festival, the competition attracted significantly more entries than last year’s 103 submissions following its nationwide open call in March. After several rounds of assessment by a five-member selection committee, 20 films were shortlisted to compete for eight awards during the 3rd Raintown Film Festival in Taiping, Perak, in early September.
The finalists will vie for Best Short Film, Special Mention Award, Best Director, Best Script, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Editing, and the festival’s highest recognition, the Rainmaker Award.
Broad participation reflects Malaysia’s growing filmmaking landscape
This year’s finalists represent a broad cross-section of Malaysia’s filmmaking community, ranging from established directors and industry professionals to emerging filmmakers, university students and returning participants.
The competition also saw participation from secondary school teachers collaborating with their students, reflecting increasing interest in filmmaking among younger Malaysians and demonstrating how creative storytelling is being embraced across different age groups.
The shortlisted films span multiple genres and styles, including narrative fiction, documentaries, animation and experimental cinema. Each production offers a unique interpretation of the competition’s theme, “After the Rain,” exploring topics such as personal journeys, family relationships and social issues through varied cinematic approaches.
Among the selected works are Sesudah Taiping by acclaimed photographer Adam Taufiq Suharto, WoWo by model and filmmaker Hana Roanne, Oi-Jia by actress MayJune Tan, and Mendung by filmmaker Adam Zainal.
East Malaysian filmmakers also feature prominently through Frekuensi by Ghadaffi Lamdin, Wap Jeti by Muneerism and Message From The Future by Wan Dinnie, reflecting the geographical diversity of this year’s competition.
Festival strengthens support for Malaysia’s independent film ecosystem
The first-round selection committee comprised producer Kumanavannan Rajendran, actress Mia Sabrina Mahadir, film enthusiast Alee Isa, artist Hong Hu and writer-director Yeo Jun Yu.
Final judging will be conducted by Malaysian New Wave filmmaker Amir Muhammad, Taiping-based director Bernard Chauly and writer Julya Oui, who will determine the winners across all award categories.
Presented by West Coast Expressway, the competition is co-organised by WuBen Film Magazine and Studio 1914, with support from the Perak State Government, Port Ipoh and the Member of Parliament for Taiping. Award sponsors include CK Music, GoPro, BenQ, Logitech, Lumos, N4 Camera Store Sdn Bhd, Sentosa Villa Resort and the SeaShorts Film Festival.
Top 20 selected films:
- Sesudah Taiping – Adam Taufiq Suharto
- Far From Home – Cheun Shi Chin
- What Does It Mean To Be Me? – Mei Thistlethwaite
- Lingering Shadows – Sidney Chan
- Memories – Chim Guan Yi
- Oi-Jia – MayJune Tan
- Sang Kercis – Nur Nazlia Binti Nazlan
- Mendung – Adam Zainal
- We Remember What We Remember – Julien Chen Lip Syn
- Rain Rain Go Away – John Wee
- Rain Keeper – Ahmad Aiman Bin Ahmad Saladin
- Pinggiran – Muhammad Emran
- Petrichor: The Missing Lies of Taiping – Venoo Kuppusamy
- Daughter of the Last Journey – Agnes Yap Jen Nie
- Rainbow – Alli Hasrom
- Petrichor – Pishang Adventures
- Frekuensi – Ghadaffi Lamdin
- Wap Jeti – Muneerism
- WoWo – Hana Roanne
- Message From The Future – D-NI
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