BE Inheritance and the People Behind 20 Years of BESarawak
When we finished interviewing Jill Henry, she had one more thing she wanted to say.
The founding CEO of Sarawak Convention Bureau wanted to leave a message for the people taking the organisation forward. We had come to record her part in its history. What moved us was how much she still cared about its future.
That moment has stayed with us from making BE Inheritance, Motion Foundry's 20th anniversary film for Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak). Screened at its anniversary gala in Kuching in September 2026, the film connects former and current leaders through a relay of questions and answers.
Nearly a decade after the ICCA Congress
In November 2016, Kuching hosted the 55th ICCA Congress. Our team worked with Mike Cannon and Amelia Roziman on filming the event and interviewing key figures for its videos.
Nearly a decade later, we were behind the camera with them again.
Back then, we were documenting an event as it happened. This time, we were listening to them reflect on the work that had brought BESarawak to its twentieth year.
When the ICCA Congress came up in the interviews, we were remembering our own time on that shoot, too. Hearing them revisit that period made us realise how much time had passed since we had been there with our cameras.
It gave this project a personal connection we could not have planned into a brief. We were being invited to look back with people whose work had crossed paths with ours, and to understand that work differently now.
Finding the idea for BE Inheritance
The starting brief was to create a twentieth anniversary film. Our role was to develop how that story could be told.
We proposed a relay of voices. One person would leave a question for the next, allowing the conversation to move from the organisation's beginnings towards the people shaping its future.
The recollections of Jill Henry and former chairman Michael Toyad helped us tell the story of the early years. From there, the film follows the people who developed that work and those responsible for what comes next.
Before filming, we worked through the background material, developed the interview questions and planned the participants and shoots. The overall direction took shape through many discussions with BESarawak's team, with ideas considered and refined together until we reached the agreed approach.
That collaboration was an important part of the work. We needed to understand what mattered to the organisation, while finding a way for an audience to connect with the people speaking.
The relay gave the film its structure. The interviews gave it its character.
Bringing the voices together
By the time we began arranging interviews, some former leaders were no longer based in Kuching. There were schedules to coordinate across different places, and our team flew to Kuala Lumpur for part of the filming.
Jill was in Australia. She returned to Kuching only three days before the anniversary gala, and we filmed her during a short window in her schedule.
Her interview came very close to the screening date. We had to work within the time available while giving her contribution the attention it deserved.
For us, this was where the preparation became especially important. A clear direction and carefully prepared questions helped us make the most of the time each person could give us.
The message Jill wanted to add
After her interview, Jill asked to add a message of encouragement for the new leadership. In the recording, she addresses the new team going forward.
She reflected on the difference between building a reputation and sustaining one. Starting from scratch had its challenges, but she felt the pioneers also had an advantage: they were establishing something new. The people coming after them would face a different kind of difficulty.
"Getting to the top takes courage, but staying at the top of your game requires incredible resilience."
What touched us was the understanding behind those words. We heard someone acknowledging the weight of the role, and offering encouragement without pretending it would be easy.
It felt like a senior colleague reaching out to those who would carry the responsibility next. She had stepped away from the position, but to us, the care was still very present.
We had already developed the relay concept before this moment. Her message gave that idea a deeper meaning for us: a handover could include advice, reassurance and an honest recognition of what the next person would face.
Hearing the responsibility in their voices
That responsibility was also present in our interviews with the leaders looking ahead. We were struck by the conviction of Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Sarawak's Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, as he spoke about the direction of business events in Sarawak.
We felt that same firmness in the contributions of BESarawak chairman Datu Hii Chang Kee and CEO Jason Tan Chin Foo. For us, their voices brought the film into the present, where the next decisions still have to be made.
Across the film, the conversation moves beyond bringing events to Sarawak. It asks what remains afterwards: what people learn, the relationships they build and the opportunities that can continue after delegates have gone home.
As filmmakers, we wanted the anniversary to leave room for that future. The recollections mattered, but so did the sense that the work was still continuing.
What we took away from the film
BE Inheritance was screened at BESarawak's twentieth anniversary gala on 23 September 2026. For us, making it brought together memories of earlier work and conversations we will remember from this production.
Working with Mike and Amelia again reminded us how quickly an event we once filmed can become part of a longer history. Listening to former leaders reminded us that leaving a position does not necessarily mean leaving behind the concern you have for the people and work connected to it.
We were asked to help tell the story of twenty years. Along the way, we were given a chance to learn from the people who had lived it.
That is the part we hope people feel when they watch the film: the personal investment behind the institution, and the wish to see it do well in someone else's hands.
More from Motion Foundry: corporate film production in Kuching and Sarawak.
Comments