Still Here, Merinsak win top honours at WMNFF Short Film Pitching 2026

SIBU : Still Here and Merinsak emerged as the two winners of the WatchMoviesNot Film Festival (WMNFF) Short Film Pitching 2026, with each project receiving a RM5,000 grant to support their further development and production.

Still Here received the Jury Award, while Merinsak took home the Special Award following a live pitching session involving 10 selected Malaysian short film projects at Paramount Hotel here on Oct 17.

The results were officially announced the following day during the WMNFF screening programme at King’s Trioplex, Sibu.

WMNFF curator Chris Ling said in a statement today that the pitching programme was intended to provide filmmakers with more than just an opportunity to compete for an award.

“The Special Award places particular emphasis on projects connected to Borneo and Sarawak, reflecting WMNFF’s efforts to encourage stories rooted in local culture, identity and lived experiences,” he added.

The 10 projects selected for the pitching session were Pulai, Merinsak, Thunder and Gun, One Last Ride with MyBros, Animal Dinner, We Are a Happy Family, Cowboy, The Murder of One, Still Here and Better Than Excuse.

During the session, each team presented its story, creative approach, production plan and potential for further development before taking part in a question-and-an

swer session with the jury.

The five-member jury comprised Golden Horse Award-winning director Lau Kek Huat; Golden Horse Award-winning director and screenwriter Lau Kok Rui; Indigenous Dusun filmmaker and programmer Nadira Ilana; Malaysian film producer and programmer Elise Shick; and Vietnamese actor Fuji Yang.

The WMNFF Short Film Pitching programme is designed not merely as a competition but also as a development platform for emerging film projects.

“It provides filmmakers with opportunities to receive feedback from industry professionals, establish connections and gain access to resources that could help bring their projects into production,” he said.

Through the programme, WMNFF also seeks to build a longer-term pathway for filmmakers, from developing an idea and pitching it to eventually bringing the project into production.

At the same time, the festival aims to create more opportunities for Malaysian filmmakers, particularly those from Borneo and East Malaysia, to develop and showcase their stories.