The 8th PRISM UBD Short Film Festival 2025 concluded with a prestigious Award Ceremony in Pro-Chancellor Arts Centre, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) on 4th December, 2025,
rewarding the achievement of young, talented filmmakers from universities across ASEAN, including a UBD partner university in Spain.
Present at the ceremony was Dr Haji Abdul Hanif Dato Paduka Haji Mahadi, UBD Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Sustainability). Also present as the guests of honor were: Dr Pengiran Mohd Rahiman Pengiran Aliudin, Programme Leader of Design and Creative Industries (DCI), at UBD; Dr Raihan Mohamad, Programme Leader of English Studies, at UBD; FASS Visiting Professor Juan Pablo from University of Seville; and Abd Bashir Haji Hamzah, Head of Faculty Multimedia and Broadcasting, Kolej International Graduate Studies (KIGS). Other attendees included student filmmakers, their friends and families, UBD faculty members, and the public.
Representatives from major sponsors of the 8th UBD PRISM – Marinna Haji Mahari, Acting Deputy Chief Executive, Development, the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI); Hajah Farihah Haji Md Said, Acting Assistant Chief Executive, Industry Development, AITI; and Haji Azmin Shariffudin, Social Investment Lead, Brunei LNG – presented the award prizes and certificates to winners of the six competition categories: Best Animation Short Film Award, Best Documentary Short Film Award, Best Fiction Short Film (Drama) Award, Best Fiction Short Film (Horror/Mystery) Award, Best Smartphone-made Short Film Award, Best Public Service Advertisement (in SDG themes) Award. Guest of Honor Dr Hajah Asiyah Az-Zahra Haji Ahmad Kumpoh, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at UBD, presented the award prize and certificate to the winner of People’s Choice Award, which was chosen based on the most online popular votes during the 8th PRISM Online Screening between 20th November to 3rd December, 2025 on FASS UBD Official YouTube Channel.
The award winners of 8th PRISM UBD Short Film Festival are:
- Best Animation Short Film: Kumpas (Filmmakers: KWATROOP, National University, The Philippines)
- Best Documentary Short Film: Asa ang mga Salida sa Leyte? [Where are the Films in Leyte?] (Filmmakers: Linus Masandag and Lebron Ponce, Visayas State University, The Philippines)
- Best Smartphone-made Short Film: Cermin [Mirror] (Filmmaker: Mohammad Azhar Haji Mohammad Khir and AWG Mohammad Aziq Zulhazmin Haji Ahmad, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam)
- Best Fiction Short Film (in Drama): Loving Complement (Filmmaker: Teeraphod Maroengsith, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand)
- Best Fiction Short Film (in Horror/Mystery): Antara Dua Sujud (Filmmaker: Alfath Sellahuddin, Kolej International Graduate Studies, Brunei Darussalam)
- Best Public Service Advertisement (in SDG themes): The Basket (Filmmaker: Mohammad Nazni Abd Salam, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam)
- People’s Choice Award: Tanjung Geranjang (Filmmakers: Nur Syaza Zahirah Jafry and Nur Daniya Elyza Haji Haszriman, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam and University of Seville, Spain)
8th UBD PRISM Short Film Festival Jury Panel was comprised of:
- Nurain Abdullah (Jury Chairwoman), Producer and Co-founder, Regalblue Production;
- Nurulhuda Sulaiman, Manager, Content Development, Industry Development Group, Authority for Info-communication Technology Industry Brunei Darussalam (AITI);
- Pengiran Mohd Khairul Amali Pengiran Haji Mohd Roslin, Senior Producer, Radio Televisyen Brunei (RTB);
- Adam Groves, Filmmaker of Visual Dimensions Production, Brunei Darussalam
- Lee Yve Vonn, Producer of Afternoon Pictures, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The award ceremony was followed by a Jury Feedback and Commenting Session. The four Bruneian juries shared their selection criteria and insights, their experiences and lessons, and their constructive suggestions, with the younger generation of filmmakers and the public.
In its fourth year as an official event under the ASEAN University Network on Culture and the Arts (AUN-CA), the 8th UBD PRISM received over 80 short film submissions from 17 higher education institutions across ASEAN, including Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Another ASEAN country Myanmar joined the cohort via its participation of the S-Express 2025 Myanmar Programme, which is part of the S-Express 2025 ASEAN including five short film screening programmes from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam during the 8th UBD PRISM. A co-produced submission by students from UBD in partnership with the University of Seville, Spain also adds more diversity to the 8th PRISM submissions.
Another highlight of this year’s film festival is, for the first time ever, PRISM launched a Feature Film Screening Programme by partnership with Bruneian local production houses which included Regalblue Production, Visual Dimension Production, AJ Film Production, Paperplane Media, and Aman Hills Cineleisure. PRISM Feature Film Screenings showcased five Bruneian domestic feature films, from the very first Bruneian feature film Gema Dari Menara (1968) to the most recent releases: Gadong (2024), Durang Hadir (2025), Cam Cam Brit (2025), and Para.Doc (2025), in both UBD Pro-Chancellor Arts Centre and Aman Hills Cinema.
