Singapura, 23 November 2017 – Indonesian talents swept the awards for all categories of “The 5-Min Video Challenge” regional competition held in Singapore (22/11) with its two videos titled “Chick-Chick” and “Sowan”. Prior to this, both videos were chosen as the winners of “Telkomsel 5-Min Video Challenge: Season 2” domestic competition and represented Indonesia in regional competitions to compete with other domestic winners from Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Australia and Gabon.  

As the Grand Winner, “Chick-Chick” directed by Kevin Anderson received a cash prize of US $30,000 and Sony a7sii camera. This short video also chosen as the People’s Choice Award runner-up with US$ 2,000 cash prize,  as well as Sony’s Emerging Talent award with prize of Sony a7sii camera. Meanwhile, “Sowan” by Destian Rendra came out as the Runner-Up of the competition and received a cash prize of US$ 15,000 and Sony a6500 camera. This video also had the most voting from public which made them as the winner of People’s Choice Award with US$ 3,000 cash prize.

Telkomsel’s Marketing Director, Mr. Alistair Johnston said, “Congratulations for the two winners! Also, thank you for the Indonesian public for their enthusiasm in supporting ‘Chick-Chick’ and ‘Sowan’, making both videos the most favorite videos in regional level.”

Mr. Johnston further explained that Indonesia's success as the grand winner for the second time in this competition show the great talent of Indonesian young generation in film industry with their quality work which makes them excel in regional competition. This year also became very special because the Indonesian contingent swept the entire categories.

Mr. Johnston also said that Telkomsel's participation in this short video competition is in line with Telkomsel's commitment in supporting young Indonesians to continue to hone their potential and to bring out the work they produces for wider public, especially video. "This is in line with the digital lifestyle that has been adopted by the community, where video content is more in demand and enjoyed through mobile platforms", explains Alistair.

Mr. Eric Choo, one of the judges for “The 5-Min Video Challenge”, which is also a Singaporean film director and producer then added, “We were wowed by the great improvement in the short videos this year. The winning works really spoke to us and we look forward to working with some these talented filmmakers." He advised aspiring filmmakers to hone their craft by continuously filming and finding new ways to tell a story even with their smart phones.

Singtel International’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Arthur Lang as the organizer of the competition said, “We’re greatly impressed by the different perspectives presented in the short videos that inspired, challenged and entertained us. As Asia’s leading communications technology group and a long-time supporter of the arts, we want to support the incredible creative talent in the region and quality original content that our customers enjoy. We’re honoured to recognise them tonight.”

This year’s “The 5-Min Video Challenge” are comprising Aaron Lea (Australia), Serge Abessolo (Gabon), Joko Anwar (Indonesia), Quark Henares (Filipina), Eric Khoo (Singapura), and Thitipong Kerdtongtawee (Thailand). These great names in film industry, TV and video content were agreed to crown “Chick-Chick” and “Sowan” as the best videos among 10 other finalists.

“Chick-Chick” tells the story of a young girl, named Kara, who stayed in her grandparents’ house following a fight between her parents. She then befriended a chicken, and use a tin-can phone in an attempt to communicate with the chicken, which inspires her to try and reconnect her fighting parents. Meanwhile “Sowan” follows a man who travels to various places on his motorbike. He hears about recent agricultural issues and discovers the conflicts among farmers, middlemen and sellers at the market.

“Chick-Chick” director, Kevin Anderson said that the domestic competition held by Telkomsel help to widen his network in film industry. This is further experienced when his work made it to the regional level, where he could sharing his ideas among finalists and judges from other countries. Destian Rendra, the director of “Sowan” thought that the award he received was a form of appreciation from panel judges with big names in film industry, and that would be an important asset for him as a young filmmaker.

The 5-Min Video Challenge is a regional video competition that begins in 2016 and is a collaboration of Singtel Group's Singtel (Singapore), Optus (Australia), AIS (Thailand), Airtel (India and Africa), Globe (Philippines), and Telkomsel (Indonesia). The competition is open to all filmmakers, both experienced in the film industry as well as beginners who feel challenged to create quality content that can get attention from public.

With "Connecting Lives" as the theme, the competition challenges participants' creativity and thought to interpret the relationship between how we see the world and how we act in everyday lives with with events that bring us to important things in life. The 5-minute video can also answer questions about things that can separate or connect us to others.