KUCHING, May 26: Petronas yesterday launched its special webfilm produced in celebration of the upcoming Hari Gawai Dayak festival in Sarawak.
Hari Gawai is a special occasion celebrated by the Dayaks that marks the end of the bountiful harvesting season in Sarawak.
It is a day of thanksgiving and also a time to plan for the new farming season.
Titled ‘Home Is Calling’, the webfilm was previewed exclusively by Kuching-based media practitioners at a special event held in conjunction with the Gawai Festival.
Petronas Senior General Manager of Group Strategic Communications Zahariah Abdul Rahman said the webfilm tells the story of a Sarawakian named Rentap who works in Kuala Lumpur.
Due to his work commitment, he misses out on the Gawai celebration back home in Sarawak.
“Intricate items from his hometown suddenly appear before him, reminding him of all the good memories of celebrating Gawai with his family back in his longhouse in Sarawak,” she explained.
Zahariah said the 90-second webfilm reflects the importance of togetherness while preserving tradition and cultural heritage.
“Petronas is pleased to produce a special webfilm this year in celebrating the Gawai Festival that highlights the unique and colourful traditions celebrated by the Dayaks, with the key message of ‘Home is where the heart is’. Our campaigns talk about family, heritage and traditions that shape who we are today.
“No matter how far we go or what we achieve in life, we will still come back home to our roots and most importantly our family,” she said, describing the plot of the webfilm.
Zahariah said Petronas worked together with a cultural expert from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Dr Norita Tugang to ensure an impactful and meaningful advertisement.
Dr Norita in a press release said it was an amazing experience to be working with Petronas in developing the latest advertisement for Gawai.
“I hope that we successfully deliver a strong message to our audience,” she was quoted as saying.
Viewers may log on to Petronas’ official YouTube channel to view the webfilm. The link is https://youtu.be/GcvvZKgUexg.
The 60-second television commercial version will be aired on local broadcast stations from May 29 until June 3, 2018.
— DayakDaily
