Brunei’s first video and audio content streaming platform, Progresif Media, celebrated an important milestone recently with the premiere of its first original series, Serpihan Masa Lalu.
Translated as Fragments of Time in Malay, the series was screened at The Empire Cineplex for 97 invited guests including the guest of honour, Permanent Secretary of Culture and Community at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hjh Nor Ashikin Hj Johari.
Serpihan Masa Lalu is a three-part miniseries that follows a 21-year-old bookworm named Dalilah, played by debutante actress Wafiqah Abu Bakar, who begins to explore all that the universe has to offer, at the behest of her friends.
This includes enduring the highs and lows of her first love and first heartbreak.
“As the first-ever Progresif Media Original, we are extremely proud of Serpihan Masa Lalu,” said Head of Progresif Media, Olivia Ong during the event.
“What the cast and crew have been able to achieve is nothing short of exceptional,” she added.
The Progresif Media-supported series was produced through a collaborative effort between Vertex Films, NHAT Studio and Kashf Kreative.
It also features a stellar first-time cast of Wafiqah Abu Bakar, Safwan Sofian, Hamizan Iman, Yaseerah Husny, Selina Khoo, Amir Shamri, Ayesha Said, Aiman Mateen and Fakhrul Razi, with the crooner as the biggest drawcard on the list.
“We hope this production will be well-received by the audience, and that people will also engage with an additional podcast series that takes the audience behind the scenes and highlights the creative process, social media campaigns and lets you get to know the actors and crew,” continued Ong.
She went on to say, that the additional content that accompanies the series illustrates the full spectrum of attractions a Progresif Media collaboration can bring, adding that the streaming service is looking to foster more collaboration with local content creators in the future.
In an interview with The Bruneian, Progresif CEO, Hjh Nurul Haniah Hj Jaafar reiterated the notion of developing the capacity of local content creators, with Serpihan Masa Lalu as a prime example of the potential and talent Bruneian creators possess.
“The fact that this was locally made, with an all-local cast and crew is wonderful,” she said, imploring other Bruneians to support the local production team by watching the mini-series via the Progresif Media streaming platform.
She highlighted how the platform was always meant to generate opportunities for local creators and to unearth local talents that were otherwise hidden prior to the platform’s launch in August of this year.
“If there’s a message to come out of this, is to not be shy and to not be afraid to showcase your capabilities, it might not be perfect the first time around, but the point is to try,” she said.
Ultimately, Progresif Media aspires to be the platform to showcase the best of local content, creators and culture, that also enables them to be paid for their work, without needing 100,000 subscribers on Youtube to monetize their content.
Beyond the screening of the first episode, mock cheques were presented to the producers as a symbolic gesture for the revenue sharing agreement that will see the content creators paid per every stream of each episode, hosted exclusively on Progresif Media.
The Bruneian | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
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