Or everyone’s favourite auntie who never thought to turn down the volume of her voice? They are what make our childhoods unforgettable, our hometowns special in our hearts. There’s something about a hometown that makes it both familiar and enchanting at once. This year, as part of Astro’s Negaraku campaign, Astro is inviting Malaysians to celebrate 1 Malaysia by sending in their own unique videos
on what makes their hometowns distinctive and unforgettable to be aired on a dedicated new channel, My Hometown (Channel 318) from 31 August to 17 September 2012. This initiative, in honour of Merdeka and Malaysia Day, is a celebration of the diverse cultures and rich heritage of Malaysia. The public are invited to send in videos about how fascinating, heart-warming, eccentric or just plain funny their hometown is and why their hometown matter so personally to them. The most creative videos will be aired on My Hometown (Channel 318) from 31 August to 17 September 2012 to be shared with the whole nation. We invite Malaysians regardless of race, gender and age to get creative and relive what made growing up in your hometown unforgettable. As part of My Hometown, Astro introduces My Hometown Short Films, a project featuring 14 short films, each covering 14 states in Malaysia and directed by 14 young film directors who will tell a story about his or her hometown. Each filmmaker originates from the state in which he or she is filming and they will tell stories that resonate with their experiences resulting in 14 diverse short films inspired by film directors who all grew up in different social environments yet united in their emotions to one country, which they call home. Amongst the film directors for My Hometown Short Films are Sharifah Armani (Kuala Lumpur), Rewan Ishak (Perlis), Adrian Lai (Melaka), Shanjey Kumar Perumal (Perak) and Ramdan Che Hassan (Kelantan). Astro’s Chief Operating Officer Henry Tan said, “For Merdeka Day this year, Astro is inviting Malaysians to celebrate their roots in Astro’s “My Hometown”. My Hometown has a different meaning to everyone and each hometown is unique with a fascinating story of it waiting to be told. Whether it’s about a favorite food stall, the best scenery in town, town fables or a local legend. We hope that My Hometown will be a platform for Malaysians broadcast the multi ethnic, multi language and multi cultural landscape of Malaysians. We are encouraging Malaysians to showcase their creative side and share with us their passion for their hometown by capturing what makes their hometown memorable.”
“To enrich the content for My Hometown, we are proud to feature 14 young and upcoming film directors for My Hometown Short Films from diverse backgrounds holding a promise for the future Malaysia’s creative industry. My Hometown Short Films provides an opportunity for these young film directors of outstanding potential at an early stage in their careers to not only celebrate their hometowns but at the same time showcase their creative perspective as a young filmmaker. We hope that through My Hometown these young film directors will have their breakthrough moment in their directing career and subsequently become major players in Malaysian creative industry.” Tan added. Malaysians are encouraged to send in their stories of their Hometown which incorporates Malaysian cultures, languages and location, in a video format (no longer than 5 minutes) to be delivered to the Astro Broadcast Centre at Bukit Jalil before 8 August 2012 or uploaded online at www.astro.com.my/myhometown. The selected videos and My Hometown Short Films will then be aired on the My Hometown (Channel 318) from 31 August to 17 September 2012. For more information on My Hometown, please visit www.astro.com.my/myhometown
