KUCHING, 21 June 2019: The 3rd Rainforest Fringe Festival [RFF] scheduled from 5 to 12 July will feature a programme to encourage both locals and visitors to immerse in Sarawak’s rich culture and heritage.
Once again the event is hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Art, Culture, Youth & Sports Sarawak (MTACYS) and is being held as a prelude to the annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) with Joe Sidek Productions Sdn Bhd (JSPSB) as the appointed organisers.
The announcement of the RFF dates and the programme was made by Minister of Tourism, Art, Culture, Youth & Sports Sarawak, YB Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah recently.
“We are proud to host the Rainforest Fringe Festival once again to celebrate the richness in culture and history,” YB Datuk Haji Abdul Karim explained during the press conference.
A show entitled ‘Primates’ featuring UK-born Iranian Ghaffar Pourazar of the Beijing Opera; award-winning Thai choreographer Jitti Chompee, Korean-based Penang dancer/choreographer Liu Yong Sean, Lim Pei Ern from Sabah and locally cast dancers is billed as the festival’s top-billed event.
Commissioned by Rainforest Fringe Festival 2019, the show reinterprets the identity and movements of primate mammals, which include apes, monkeys and humans.
The show will be performed on a specially constructed bamboo and wooden structure designed by the architect Wendy Teo who is also the curator of the Borneo Art Collective.
The critically acclaimed Orang-Orang Drum Theatre performs live-music to accompany the ‘Primates’ show.
Other highlights include Sarawak’s indigenous culture, the RFF 2019 an indigenous film festival and presentations of the state’s vast rainforest and the city of Kuching itself.
Exhibitions include Rainforests of the World by Ch’ien Lee, Over Sarawak by David Loh, Jungle Fever by Marie Dargent and the launching of Brooke Heritage Trust’s Museum of Kuching.
The festival’s market will showcase design brands from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore and Thailand – opening up the world of creative designs, for the people of Sarawak.
As part of a community project, the festival will include the staging of The White Rajah of Sarawak (reworked), to be presented by the St Joseph’s Private School.
International indigenous Film Festival
Started in 2018 by Emmanuela Dewi Shinta and David Metcalf in Bali, the Indigenous Film Festival has travelled to Bhubaneswar in India and Kalimantan before making a stop in Kuching as part of RFF2019.
Rainforests of the world
In this photographic exhibition, comprising work from the rainforests of Borneo, Madagascar, New Guinea, and the Amazon Basin, Ch’ien Lee aims to inspire a deeper understanding of these magical places, their incredible diversity, and how their continued existence is vital for the health of the entire planet.
Over Sarawak
This is a festival-commissioned photography project by David Loh, an acclaimed photojournalist. The exhibition will feature 30 prints of photos taken by David Loh in various parts of Sarawak using drone photography and technology. Over Sarawak is part of David’s Over Malaysia series, and his previous exhibition Over Penang has received widespread acclaim.
Rainforest Fringe Festival 2019
Taking place from 5 to 12 July, the 3rd edition of Rainforest Fringe Festival (RFF), will showcase the very best of Sarawak’s music, art, craft, film, photography, food, and culture/heritage. Hosted by the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth & Sports, and in collaboration with the Sarawak Tourism Board, Rainforest Fringe Festival (RFF) is held as a prelude to the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).
