Now in its 19th year running, a landmark Grand Prize Winner was announced by the BMW Shorties programme in the form of ‘Anak Omputeh’ by Darwish Syahmi from Multimedia University Cyberjaya (MMU). He has now become the historic first director to score both the Grand Prize & the Best Student Shorties Awards in the same year, marking a significant milestone for Malaysian student filmmaking and digital content creation.

BMW Group Malaysia’s Director of Corporate Communications and Sustainability Sashi Ambihaipahan said, “The BMW Shorties, as our longest-running Arts & Culture initiative, remains at the heart of our mission to discover and celebrate Malaysia’s immense creative talent. For 19 years, this programme has championed emerging voices, and this year’s Grand Prize Winner represents a truly remarkable achievement, showcasing the exceptional calibre of local student talent. Our commitment has always stood for nurturing creativity and innovation, and this extends across our other initiatives, including ENVision.Next, BMW Technical Trainee, and BMW Product Genius programmes, all designed to cultivate a society driven by creativity, innovation, and progress.”

Taking inspiration from Darwish’s own childhood, ‘Anak Omputeh’s central character takes the form of Lan, a young Malay boy who returns to his father’s kampung after five years spent growing up overseas in a part of the world between Central Asia & Eastern Europe. He initially finds life in this traditional setting to be disconcertingly unfamiliar, struggling to navigate a culture that feels foreign to him or truly connect with more naturalized peers. Yet he finds himself gradually growing fonder of both them and the kampung’s more tranquil way of living, thanks to several heartwarmingly comedic adventures. His story authentically explores the experience of ‘Third Culture Kids’, celebrating universal bonds of belonging & friendship while conveying the realities of cultural reintegration. The short film even won the hearts of BMW Shorties’ wider community, with the esteemed People’s Choice Award also going to the team behind it following public voting over several weeks.

Hailing from MMU Cyberjaya’s Faculty of Cinematic Arts, Darwish Syahmi entered the BMW Shorties already with an impressive creative foundation even at his youthful age of 20 years, having nurtured a particular specialty for blending comedic irony with hard-hitting reality since his younger years. Previous works in his portfolio include ‘Kapak’ (2023) nominated at Sarawak’s 20th Mini Film Festival; the experimental film ‘FORYOU32GODSAVEOURCHILDREN’ (2023) nominated in 2024 at the Taylor’s University Film Festival; and the mini-documentary Kintsugi (2024) that won 1st Runner-Up at Echo Film Fest: The Sequel. As for future plans, he has a singular clear goal already set in mind: to make his indelible stamp in Malaysian cinema by writing & directing a feature film.

Reflecting on this latest win, he shared, “This entire experience has been absolutely amazing. ‘Anak Omputeh’ came from a very personal place of wanting to show the experience of ‘Third Culture Kids’, that even when you do not speak the same language, you can be united on the universal language of kindness and compassion. I am very grateful to my cast and crew who took a chance on this story, and to the BMW Shorties for giving student creators a chance to be seen on such a prestigious platform. Winning both the Grand Prize and Best Student Shorties Award has given me the confidence to take this passion even further, and I am thrilled to have the chance to keep making projects that feel honest and rooted in the Malaysian experience.”

A well regarded judging panel of award-winning industry luminaries selected ‘Anak Omputeh’for the win thanks to its compellingly heartfelt storytelling & authentic exploration of culture. They included internationally acclaimed director Saw Teong Hin (Puteri Gunung Ledang, You Mean The World To Me), filmmaker and documentarian Zan Azlee (The Life & Times of an Islamic Insurgency), distinguished veteran actress & writer Fatimah Abu Bakar (Tiger Stripes, Imaginur), celebrated auteur Nadiah Hamzah (Motif), and Ts. Dr. Vimala Perumal who is a pioneering voice in Malaysian Tamil cinema (Vedigundu Pasangge, Tamiletchumy).

They applauded the story’s non-judgmental way of exploring complex cultural identities with warmth & careful consideration, along with Darwish’s mature storytelling that truly reflects his directing potential as a director to navigate complex themes with nuance. ‘Anak Omputeh’s authenticity also came in for praise, with no forced perfection precluding its sincerity and genuine passion from shining through.

It genuinely epitomized the ‘New Dimensions’ theme for 2025, which charged participants to explore bold new perspectives even beyond conventional storytelling. Its emotional depth & authentic exploration of cultural identity mirrors BMW Group Malaysia’s very same innovative yet human-driven spirit which drives its approach to advancing automotive design and mobility.

For the Grand Prize, Darwish was awarded an RM50,000 production grant to help bring visionary life to his next project; plus the newest OPPO Find X9 Pro thanks to OPPO Malaysia, enabling him to count on their cutting-edge mobile technology in his quest to continually create visually striking digital content. His remarkable haul of awards here is a true demonstration of the exceptional creative talents emerging from both our local academic institutions & larger creative community.

That’s not all though: both the Best Actor, Best Director, Best Story and Best Editing Awards very deservedly went to Shamalan Nagayai & Wong Zhao Quan’s Perfect Family starring Dexter Zhen, a tactilely produced take on the comical yet all too real shenanigans which often ensue when a family’s image clashes with more closely held personal beliefs. Best Actress Awards also notably went to both Hana Roanne in Abid Danish’s Tragedy of Youth, and Kimberly Chuah for her portrayal of the charming yet wily Suzy in Syalikh Nazrul’s Flat No.4. Together, they made for an appealing array of works while reinforcing the BMW Shorties’ steadfast commitment to discovering, developing & celebrating the next generation of Malaysian storytellers.