The Malaysia Animation Film Festival (‘MAFF’) returns this October 2025 for its highly anticipated third edition, celebrating the diversity and creativity of homegrown animation. The festival aims to uplift local talent by offering a platform for emerging animators to share personal, culturally resonant narratives through their own lens.
A collaboration between GSC International Screens and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), MAFF 2025 presents a curated selection of 15 short animated films created by a new generation of Malaysian animators, showcased at selected GSC locations from 16 October 2025 onwards.
“We are dedicated to showcasing the incredible diversity and originality of Malaysian animation, and are proud to provide local creatives with a platform to shine on the big screen. These stories represent the heart of our industry’s future, and we’re thrilled to share them with the world on the big screens at GSC,” said Ms. Koh Mei Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Screen Cinemas.
Here’s all the films screening for this year’s MAFF:
Abah
- Director: Aqilah Rafiqah
- Synopsis: A father, living in quiet solitude after a divorce, is reunited with his daughter in an unexpected visit. They relive moments from the old times over warm memories and a shared meal. As they laugh and cook together, something in her reaction begins to unsettle him.
Confictionary Crime
- Director: Tan Xin Yi
- Synopsis: Xin is depicted as a spy with the mission to steal a prized dragon staff from a mafia boss in the streets of Kowloon. She sneaks into the mafia’s hideout, dodging the traps and decoding puzzles. When she claims the treasure, she makes an explosive escape towards the alleyway, only to be stopped by the mafia boss herself, Ruo Lan.
D’Sebalik
- Director: Nureen Qistina Binti Afandi
- Synopsis: Salsabella, a curious girl from a quiet village, is drawn to the mystery of a forbidden forest as whispers from the villagers reach her ears. One day, she discovers an old watch near its edge and slips it on without thinking. A shadow wraps around her, pulling her into the forest’s dark, silent depths. She wakes frightened and lost, with no way to turn back. Just as danger closes in, a white figure appears and shields her.
Following the Line
- Director: Ong Jia Yee
- Synopsis: Set during Taiwan’s economic boom of the 1960s to ’70s, this animated film tells the story of an elderly grandmother whose life reflects the sacrifices many women made for family over their own dreams. When her grandchild tries to repair a doll’s clothes using a sewing machine, the grandmother intervenes, sparking a confrontation that unearths her long-suppressed memories and pain.
Generation
- Director: Yong Kim Pang, Raffael Sebastian Wandana
- Synopsis: Ming grew up in a small farming village, where his parents worked tirelessly. Tragedy struck when his mother was killed in a road accident due to poor lighting. Determined to help, Ming began assisting his father after school.
Hantu Runcit
- Director: Alicia Chu Ann Yee
- Synopsis: Jia Hong, who works part-time at a small-town kedai runcit, gets visited by a tall, intimidating ghost at the shop. Despite bearing a haunting appearance, the ghost only comes and takes one piece of junk food from the shop before leaving. Hong tries to use traditional ghost-repelling methods to keep the ghost out, but it always manages to return. Eventually, he came to tolerate the ghost’s nightly visits, until the ghost stops showing up.
Haun-t-uan
- Director: Muhammad Qayyum Bin Mohamad Khairul Azman
- Synopsis: Sameon, a Hantu Raya, shares an abandoned house with his housemate Zack, a small green ghost known as a Toyol. After being jobless for ages, Sameon is introduced by Zack to an app called “Haun-T-uan” that matches ghosts with potential human masters. Without listening to Zack, he excitedly accepts a match and ends up on a film set.
Kumang and The Ungrateful Python
- Director: Siew Chung Lee
- Synopsis: Kumang discovers a baby python in her fishing basket and chooses to raise it as her own. Over time, the snake grows larger and hungrier. When the forest can no longer satisfy its appetite, it turns on Kumang, demanding the one thing she never thought she’d have to give: her heart. Betrayed by the creature she nurtured, Kumang must outsmart it before it’s too late.
Last Call
- Director: Amirul Iqram Ramli
- Synopsis: A middle-aged man named Simon is contemplating his existence. He wonders if he ever amounted to anything growing up due to living solely for the purpose of his father’s acknowledgement. With the help of an otherworldly being that calls himself ‘The Narrator’, Simon learns the truth and slowly sees the wonders of the world that he had been missing out on.
Last Toy Standing
- Director: Jane Yap Chian Chian
- Synopsis: Diva is a pampered doll living happily alone in a dollhouse. Showered by affection, she is given a gramophone by her owner as a gift. One day, the owner brings in a new toy, Ace, to her dollhouse, much to her dismay. Upset by the unwelcomed resident in her home, she fears that her days of being “the favourite” of her owner might have come to an end.
Matriphagy
- Director: Heidi Yau Ryu Ying, Athira Hanita Shaumi
- Synopsis: Sometime during the 1940s, where war rages and famine follows, two nuns, Isabeau and Amelie, seek shelter from the bombing and find themselves trapped in the crypt of the church they were serving. Their food resources dwindle and eventually run out. Suffering from starvation, they try to keep their hunger at bay through their faith.
Puteh
- Director: Haaziq Hilman
- Synopsis: This story follows a beautiful young princess named Putri. She wanders around a forest and stumbles upon a small red bird, helplessly laying in the middle of a forest floor, alone and exposed. Overwhelmed with emotion, Putri sings from the depths of her heart while gently carrying the small bird in her arms.
Relive
- Director: Jeremy Lim Ting Han
- Synopsis: A young soul, Xiao Bao, finds himself in a lone tea house surrounded by an endless expanse of water. He witnesses the horrific transformation of another soul upon entering a mysterious doorway and attempts to escape. Unbeknownst to him, the goddess of reincarnation, Meng Po, is in pursuit.
The Horizon
- Director: Francis Bong
- Synopsis: This animation follows the journey of a resilient robot who escapes the oppressive invaders that destroyed its home planet. With its world reduced to ashes, the robot narrowly survives by launching itself into space aboard an escape pod. After a long and uncertain drift through the void, it crash-lands on Earth damaged, but driven by purpose.
Winter
- Director: Ma Jian Wei
- Synopsis: A young and loyal messenger has completed his duty of delivering a letter, but unfortunately, he has lost his life. Under the guidance of the receiver, the Tree Guardian, he comes to terms with his fate and accepts his death.
For more information, visit GSC’s official website.
