This Malaysian Tiger Documentary Made It All the Way to Cannes

Hollywood better watch out! Thanks to this lecturer from Taylor’s, a Malaysian documentary is on its way to the AVIFF Cannes Art Film Festival 2021.

Published 24 Dec 2020

This Malaysian Documentary Made It All the Way to Cannes - Feature-Image

Malaysians have made it again! A Malaysian documentary has made its way to the prestigious AVIFF Cannes Art Film Festival 2021.

The Malayan Tiger: It’s Now or Never! is a short half-hour documentary commissioned by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. It was written by Taylor’s University’s very own Dr Joe Qiao Li, from the School of Media and Communications (SOMAC), and directed by local filmmaker Raja Mohamad Amin Bin Raja Azharby from Datu Entertainment.

The documentary follows the conservation effort of the highly endangered Malayan tigers. It specifically highlights the many challenges faced by the national forest rangers in controlling poaching and ensuring the safety of the tigers.

“The topic of saving Malayan tigers has been a decade-long conversation.” said Datuk Zurinah Pawanteh, the ministry’s Secretary General. “This honour to have a Malaysia-produced documentary highlighting important conversations such as this premiere at an influential platform is a defining and proud moment for us.”

In another bout of great news, Dr Li has also been invited to appear as a Jury Member for the festival. As a lecturer from SOMAC, this marks an important moment not just for him, but also for his students. He anticipates that the experiences and connections he accrued from his involvement to be beneficial “to the future of Taylor’s University and its SOMAC students.”

These achievements, as well as the faculty’s recently announced collaboration with Beijing Film Academy Modern Creative Media College (BFAMCMC), will no doubt give SOMAC students better opportunities to succeed in the field.