Malaysian films spark excitement abroad

By POH SI TENG
The Star – Malaysia
June 5, 2005

For a $12 movie ticket, San Franciscans got to see the real Malaysia.

Movie lovers with an appetite for foreign films were transported to serene rubber estates, romantic pre-war shophouses in Ipoh, and wood-planked shacks in an obscure rainforest. Audiences also had a taste of 15th century Melaka, contemporary Indonesian politics and some bizarre experimental clips of Japan accompanied by Malay pantun verses.

It was quite an introduction, especially for those who were not aware of the country’s location, much less its social, political and economic climate.

The reality tour on the silver screens granted curious viewers a more intimate and wholesome experience of the country, as opposed to the pretentious, ethnically representative, “Malaysia Truly Asia” advertisements from the “Cuti-Cuti Malaysia” campaign.

“Seeing the Malaysian community (on screen) gave me a feel that there is prejudice in all cultures,” said former teacher Gail Zaro, 66, after watching “Sepet.”

Zaro said she was also impressed by the well-balanced portrayal of Malaysians – the modernity of their dressing and music interests, and their struggle to retain old traditions.

The Malaysian focus at the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival this year, gave local directors an avenue to introduce and market their films to international cinema fans.

Six exemplary films that have gained international recognition, “Puteri Gunung Ledang,” “Sepet,” “The Gravel Road,” “Monday Morning Glory,” “The Year of Living Vicariously” and “Tokyo Magic Hour” gave keen independent moviegoers on widening their global perspective, a sneak-peak of Malaysia and the region.

“Malaysia is very much an unknown entity,” said Malaysian and long-time Bay Area resident Brian Hew, on how the country was often overshadowed by Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

“For (the Malaysian directors) to come out here and show themselves at a film festival, brings a human face and quality that people here often don’t associate Malaysia with,” he said at the “Malaysian Cinema: A New Independence” discussion panel.

Director of publicity for the festival, Hilary Hart said that the Malaysian film focus informed many people about the independent film movement in Malaysia. It was well received by both foreign and local press, and international film enthusiasts living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We got an awfully lot of compliments for the Malaysian films. It showed many elements unique to the S.F. film festival,” she said. “They were both special and unusual, exactly what a film festival’s mandate is supposed to be – to discover things.”

From April 21 to May 5, the six movies screened alongside a diverse showcase of 185 independent and mainstream feature films, shorts and documentaries spanning 49 countries, such as Argentina’s “Social Genocide,” Iran’s “Kamancheh,” San Francisco’s very own “Pursuit of Equality,” and Russian documentary “Facing the Enemy.” The screenings were scattered throughout the Bay Area, showing in the Palace of Fine Arts, the Kabuki, Castro and Aquarius theatres in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley.

The festival’s tagline this year was “Widen Your Focus,” an encompassing theme that granted audiences a cinematic experience beyond conventional Hollywood blockbusters. It gave international film lovers an opportunity to see the human values and experiences shared with people from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Indonesian Berkeley graduate Shirley Surya, 24, said she learned a lot about Malaysia and her native country.

“I learned that our cultures are inseparable and that we have many similarities, art-wise and culture-wise. It’s a contrast to what’s going on politically,” Surya said, after watching Amir Muhammad’s “The Year of Living Vicariously,” a documentary about progressive political activism in Indonesia.

Financial bank manager Adam Hartman, 35, who has visited Penang and Kuala Lumpur, said he enjoyed “Puteri Gunung Ledang” and “Sepet” very much.

“I’ve been to Malaysia before and it brought me back there. It was nice to look at the relationships and cross cultural conflicts. It also shattered the stereotype that I had of Muslim women,” said Hartman about the female lead character Orked in “Sepet.” “She was very confident and assertive.”

Although none of the films could solely represent the country’s demography and politics, together they presented a plethora of Malaysian frustrations, dreams and ambition.

The films also sparked excitement within the international cinema community.

“It caught a lot of people by surprise because it’s the first time they’ve seen a Malaysian film. And they’re very curious as to whether there are more films like that from Malaysia. That’s all good,” said Saw Teong Hin about the positive response to his epic period film, “Puteri Gunung Ledang.”

Director Deepak Kumaran Menon mentioned that the audience responded enthusiastically to his Tamil language feature film, “The Gravel Road” because of its universal appeal. It highlighted humanistic elements such as hope and despair, faced by Indian rubber-tappers in rural estates.

“Even though I took such a specific subject matter, they didn’t see it like that. They saw it as a human story,” Menon said about how people related with the protagonist, Shanta, and her aspirations for self-advancement.

San Franciscans were informed of the country’s rich history and culture through Menon’s film, said Hong Kong International Film Festival programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon.

“Malaysia is a very complex country and this film definitely shows a different side of Malaysia that is not shown regularly,” he said.

Other local films garnered equally positive reactions.

The premier of “Monday Morning Glory” at the festival, a hand-held digital video feature “about terrorists hanging out,” surpassed director Woo Ming Jin’s expectations. He felt this was so, because of the documentary-style film’s relation to the current political and social situation in South East Asia.

“I think there will be a lot of foreign interest because of the subject matter. But I don’t want people to watch it just for the subject matter, but on merit as well. But hey, if they want to buy it, let them buy it,” said Woo.

Asian film specialist Roger Garcia said that there will hopefully be continuous exposure and better distribution prospects for mainstream and independent local movies, now that Malaysia is in the film festivals’ circuit. It was Garcia who brought the diverse spectrum of Malaysian films to the San Francisco festival.

“When you have a range of filmmakers whose work encompasses James Lee and Ho Yuhang, I think that’s very impressive,” said Garcia who is familiar with the works of other reknown local filmmakers. “There’s a lot of talent in Malaysia.”