A Sabah primary school teacher’s side project of making films with his students has put the rural school on the world map.
Short films produced by SK Tampulan in Telipok, a town some 15km north of Kota Kinabalu, have been viewed more than 20 million times online, screened in film festivals in four continents and won competitions.
But more rewarding than the accolades, said teacher Irwan Hamsah, is how the filmmaking projects have managed to engage even the most restless of his students and gave them more focus to perform academically.
For example, he said one student, who was often disruptive in class and refused to do school work, became an exemplary student after playing the role of a zombie in a short film.
Irwan, who is better known as Cikgu Iroet Marteni, said getting praise and attention from fellow students and the community left a positive impact on the student.
“I believe the attention he received made him feel like a superstar at school and in his village, so he changed positively to maintain a good image among his peers,” said Cikgu Iroet who teaches information and communication technology.
The director of their latest film, Edjucchio Effour Edmund, scored 4As and 1B in UPSR this year, although he once had trouble communicating.
The eight-minute film, Solungsung, swept up four prizes at the Sabah Screen Fest (SSF) 2019 last month - winning Effour the title of Best Director as well.
The film was also won Best Short Film, Best Actor and Best Script in the annual film involving schoolchildren across Malaysia.
“We’re most proud of the fact that our film has also been screened in festivals in Slovenia, Brazil and South Africa,” Cikgu Iroet said.
Eight SK Tampulan students acted in the film written by fellow student Jon Ouman Tandagu. It tells the story of a child who solves water shortage in his village during a drought.
Solungsung is not the first film by SK Tampulan students which received wide attention.
Zombie flick a hit online
Their 2017 film Tuhau vs Zombie has been viewed more than 21 million times on YouTube and won the SSF in 2017.
It tells the story of a zombie outbreak in a village, with tuhau - a sort of ginger torch plant - being the only remedy.
Cikgu Iroet started engaging the students in filmmaking because he wanted the community to know about SK Tampulan, which is one of five rural schools in the Kota Kinabalu education district.
“Wherever I went, be it for a (regional) meeting or workshop, there was always a teacher who didn’t know where SK Tampulan is,” Cikgu Iroet said.
Since then, he said, filmmaking has been a more subtle and effective way for him to guide his students, compared to old ways like caning or meting out other punishment.
This is because filmmaking appeals to the children’s innate visual nature. It also appeals to the fact that they are greatly influenced by social media and respond better if emotionally engaged.
“Caning is no longer relevant in this day and age,” Cikgu Iroet added when contacted.
Learning filmmaking through YouTube
He said the lack of equipment remains the biggest challenge in the school’s filmmaking adventure.
“We only use equipment and props that can be found around the school because we don’t have a special budget for the films,” he said.
The ICT teacher also found it challenging to guide the students in filmmaking, for which he has no training.
“YouTube is my main reference to teach students the basics of acting, since I don’t have knowledge or experience in filmmaking,” said Cikgu Iroet, who has served SK Tampulan for 10 years.
“Students can learn a lot through films because they are naturally visual learners.
“Instead of viewing films and entertainment as something that could be detrimental to society, we should use it as a way to help students become better people and improve academically.
“There are always pro and contra for everything in our lives. It is up to us to determine if we want something to be black or white,” Cikgu Iroet said. - Mkini
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