FINAS held a three-day one-off film festival from February 16-18, 2003 entitled Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival 2003 with the theme “Peace, Harmony, Non-Violence and Non-Discrimination”. It was organized in conjunction with the Non-Aligned Movement Conference which was hosted by Malaysia during the same period. KLWFF ‘03 managed to gather participants from over 40 countries throughout the world and marked the beginning of Kuala Lumpur’s involvement in the global film industry.

Carrying similar objectives of Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival 2003 (KLWFF ‘03), in 2006 a proposal made to the Malaysian government through FINAS to organize an annual film festival named as Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival (KLIFF) with a new brand, theme and business approach to benefit filmmakers, producers, creative and technical talents, film students, sponsors, business entities related to the film industry and film enthusiasts throughout the world.

Now, 2010 marks the third year of Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival event.

KLIFF 2010

Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival (KLIFF) will be held at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur & Malaysia Tourism Center (MATIC) on 24th until 28th November 2010

The Theme

The theme for KLIFF is “Celebrating Cultural Diversity”. We believe that to achieve global peace and stability, we must start by learning to appreciate cultural differences and sharing information with one another. Film is one of the most popular and effective mediums to stimulate such positive messages. We hope we will be able to make a significant contribution towards promoting unity and tolerance amongst the people of the world.

KLIFF 2010 program / activities

- Welcoming Night
- KLIFF Symposium
- KLIFF Business Matching
- Public Film Screening (at selected cinemas)
- Malaysian Film Premiere
- International Film Premiere
- Film Exhibitions
- Film Casting
- KLIFF 2010 Award Night

Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival

The Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival had its beginnings in February 2003 when the one-off, three-day Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival was organised by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia

National Film Development Corporation Malaysia

The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia is the central government agency for the film industry of Malaysia. FINAS is similar to the Motion Picture Association of America in the United States.-External links:*...

, or FINAS. Organised in conjunction with the Non-Aligned Movement Conference

Non-Aligned Movement

The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...

 being held that year, the theme was "Peace, Harmony, Non-Violence and Non-Discrimination".

Three years later, a consortium of entertainment companies an annual film festival, the Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival (KLIFF), be organised by FINAS.

2007 festival

With the theme, "Celebrating Cultural Diversity", the inaugural Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival screened 50 films from 18 countries. The competition featured 22 films from the five continents of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America, as well as documentaries, short films and animation. The budget for the film festival was 4 million Malaysian ringgit

Malaysian ringgit

The Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen...

.

Among the competition entries was one Malaysian film

Cinema of Malaysia

The cinema of Malaysia revolves around a small film industry that dates back to the 1930s. At present, Malaysia produces about 20 feature films annually, and between 300–400 television dramas and serials a year apart from the in-house productions by the individual television stations. Malaysia also...

, 1957: Hati Malaya

1957: Hati Malaya

1957: Hati Malaya is a Malaysian historical film released on 25 October 2007.-Synopsis:The spirit of Merdeka – remember the sacrifices made by our founding fathers to free us from colonialism...

. A non-competition film making its premiere was Long Road to Heaven

Long Road to Heaven

Long Road to Heaven is a 2007 Indonesian feature film about the 2002 Bali bombing, by Kalyana Shira Films. The film was directed by Enison Sinaro and written by Wong Wai Leng and Andy Logam-Tan. It tells the story during three different times: the planning a few months before the bombing, its...

, an Indonesian film about the 2002 Bali bombings.

The festival was held from November 28 to December 2, 2007 with screenings at the Cathay Cineleisure

Cathay Organisation

Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leading leisure and entertainment groups. It has the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in Singapore and Malaysia.-The early years:...

 Mutiara Damansara

Mutiara Damansara

Mutiara Damansara is a township in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. It is developed by Mutiara Rini, a member of the Boustead Group.-Features:...

 and the Perdana Awards ceremony at the Putra World Trade Centre

Putra World Trade Centre

Putra World Trade Centre ' is a main convention and exhibition centre, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Construction commenced in 1981 and was completed in 1984...

.

2008

• Perdana Award - (BEST OVERALL FILM)Film: A Casa de Alice (Brazil)
• Perdana Award - (BEST AFRICAN CONTINENT AWARD) Film: Divizionz ( South africa / Uganda)
• Perdana Award - (BEST ASIAN CONTINENT AWARD) Film: Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)
• Perdana Award - (BEST EUROPEAN CONTINENT AWARD) Film: Darling (France)
• Perdana Award - (BEST NORTH AMERICA CONTINENT AWARD) Film: Fugitive Pieces (CANADA)
• Perdana Award - (BEST SOUTH AMERICA CONTINENT AWARD) Film: A Casa de Alice (Alice’s House) (Brazil)
• Best Director Award - YES! THAT’S US : Film - Divizionz (South Africa / Uganda)
• Best Actress Award - CARLA RIBAS :Film - A Casa de Alice (Alice’s House) (Brazil)
• Best Actor Award - NADIM SAWALHA :Film - Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)
• Best Cinematography Award - Hai Jiao Qi Hao :Film - Cape No. 7 (Taiwan)
• Best Screenplay Award - Hassan And Morcos (Egypt)
• Best Sound Award - Hamoon And Darya (Iran)
• Best Music Score Award - Divizionz (South Africa / Uganda)
• Best Editing Award - Darling (France)
• Special Jury Award - Wayang (Malaysia)
• Best Animation Film - Memory Loss (Taiwan)
• Best Documentary Film - Muschelsuche Unter Dem Arktischen Eis (Under The Ice) (Canada)
• Best Short Film - G16 G17 (Malaysia)

2007

Jury members for the competition were U-Wei Haji Shaari from Malaysia, Andrew Vial from Australia, Jeff Bollow

Jeff Bollow

Jeff Bollow is an actor, writer, director, producer, author, public speaker, and film festival organizer...

 from New Zealand, Sozo Teruoka from Japan and Tikoy Aguiluz

Tikoy Aguiluz

Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz is an award winning Filipino film director, film producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Aguiluz founded the Cinemanila International Film Festival in Manila in 1999....

 from the Philippines. The awards are as follows:

• Best Film - Sunday in Kigali (Canada)
• Best Actress - Fatou N'Diaye (Sunday in Kigali)
• Best Actor - Adel Imam  (The Yacoubian Building
  The Yacoubian Building (film)
  The Yacoubian Building is an Egyptian film based on the novel of the same title by author Alaa Al Aswany. It has been reported to be the highest-budgeted film in the history of Egyptian cinema.-Background:...
  
  , Egypt)
• Best Director - Charles Burnett
  Charles Burnett (director)
  Charles Burnett is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer...
  
   (The Struggle for Liberation, Namibia)
• Best Screenplay - American Folk (USA)
• Best Score - The Struggle for Liberation (Namibia)
• Best Sound - 1957: Hati Malaya
  1957: Hati Malaya
  1957: Hati Malaya is a Malaysian historical film released on 25 October 2007.-Synopsis:The spirit of Merdeka – remember the sacrifices made by our founding fathers to free us from colonialism...
  
  (Malaysia)
• Best Cinematography - Not by Chance
  Not By Chance
  Not By Chance were an American Acoustic band, formed in Stafford, Virginia in 1996, after David M. Bailey was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumor and given six months to live...
  
  (Brazil)
• Best Special Effects (Jury Merit Award) - Transformers (USA)
• Best Editing - Raphael Nadjari
  Raphael Nadjari
  Raphaël Nadjari is a French born writer and director for film and television.In 1993, Nadjari started working for French television as a writer and director...
  
   (Tehilim
  Tehilim (film)
  Tehilim is Raphael Nadjari's fifth feature film. It was shot in Jerusalem in 2006.-Plot:In contemporary Jerusalem, a small Jewish family leads an ordinary life until following a car accident, the father mysteriously disappears. They all deal with his absence and the difficulties of everyday life...
  
  )
• Special Jury Award - 1957: Hati Malaya
• Best African Film - The Struggle for Liberation (Namibia)
• Best South American Film - Cyrano Fernandez
  Cyrano Fernandez
  Cyrano Fernandez is a 2007 Venezuelan drama film based on the plays of Cyrano de Bergerac but set in contemporary times.-Synopsis:The movie is based on the romantic triangle between Cyrano , Cristian and Roxanna during the turbulent riots between a group of drug dealers and the neighbours of a...
  
  (Venezuela)
• Best North American Film - Sunday in Kigali (Canada)
• Best European Film - Tehilim (France)
• Best Asian Film - One Summer with You (China)
• Best Documentary - 4 (Australia)
• Best Animation - Upin & Ipin (Malaysia)
• Best Short Film - Feng (Wind) (Singapore/Australia)