Jejak Warriors & Saw Teong Hin

The director ... Saw Teong Hin

Football. Fatherhood. Family … these elements will be found in the Malaysian made film Jejak Warriors. The director of the film Saw Teong Hin spoke to theSun about the challenges he faced in the film.  The article was published today. Here is the full article

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Headline: On a Journey of Discovery

By Bissme S

Director Saw Teong Hin tackles the theme of family and fatherhood played out in the world of the ‘greatest game on earth’ in his latest film, Jejak Warriors, which will be released in cinemas nationwide on Aug 27.

The film stars Mohd Aliff Firdaus, Pekin Ibrahim, Nadiya Nissa, Harun Salim Bachik and Ogy Ahmad Daud. And playing a major supporting role in this football film is Kelantan’s state team The Red Warriors.Some of The Red Warriors key players who will be playing themselves in the film include Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor, Mohd Fitri Omar and Ahmad Fakri Saarani. Jejak Warriors centres on young teenager Wan Raja (Mohd Aliff), who loses his father in an unfortunate accident. While going through his father’s belongings, Wan Raja learn that he was a big fan of Kelantan’s The Red Warriors. The team has a huge and loyal fanbase and has won the Malaysia Cup in 2010.Hoping to honour his father’s spirit, Wan Raja decides to travel from his home in Johor Baru to the city of Kota Baru to meet The Red Warriors. Along the way, he encounters many adventures.

Helming the film is Saw, an industry veteran with some 20 years of experience directing and producing not only films but also advertisements and music videos. Saw made his feature film directorial debut with Puteri Gunung Ledang, which was the first Malaysian film featured at the Venice International Film Festival in 2004. He has also directed Apa Kata Hati? (2008) and Hoore! Hoore! (2012).

In this interview, Saw shares his thoughts on the local film industry and the challenges he faced making Jejak Warriors.

*Tell us more about Jejak Warriors?

We rarely make sports movies here. You do not have to be a sports fan to enjoy this film. [Playing a] sport is an activity that inspires us to strive to be better and to never give up. [All of us] are constantly striving to make our lives better. Sometimes our plans work out successfully, and sometimes they fail. But when we fail, we learn to pick up the pieces and continue with our struggle to make our lives better.

*What was it like directing the football players in Jejak Warriors.?

They are not actors. They were nervous in front of the camera. They were afraid they [would not know] where to stand and what kind of expressions to present for the  camera. I had an acting coach (actress Fauziah Nawi) to give them a few acting tips before filming.The good thing is they are playing themselves. I just asked them to be natural. The only problem was [their commitment to their football career]. I had to make sure our shooting schedule fit around their matches.”

*Do you face any challenges as a filmmaker in Malaysia?

Any filmmaker who tells you that he/she is completely happy is lying. There are so many constraints that we have to face as filmmakers in this country – from censorship to financing the movies. You must learn to work around these, and make the best of your situation. No one is spared the trails and tribulations.As a filmmaker, I handle my problems

stoically and cheerfully. You can easily focus on your problems but sometimes, that is not going to help you. Frankly speaking, you must find joy in the things you do.

* What are some of your challenges?

The market is dominated by certain genres of films and the producers want you to make films that will appeal to the audience. When you want to make a film that is out of the box, it is hard to get the funding. “I’m lucky that my next film project is one that is close to my heart. I have always wanted to make a Penang Hokkien film and the dream is slowly coming true. The film, You Mean the World to Me, will start shooting in September. It is a family drama about love and forgiveness. I wrote the script last year. But I could not find the funding for it. So I presented it as a stage play last year and managed to secure some financial backing for a movie.”

* What kind relationship did you share with your own father?

My father passed away in 2005. We were close. He was a businessman, a rice miller. But his business failed. It was difficult for him and the family. But there was no self-pity. He did not let his failure break him. He became a van driver to support us. I did not grow up in a wealthy environment. But I was a happy child. With him, I had experienced unconditional love.

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Scenes from Jejak Warriors 

Polis Evo

 

Shaheizy Sam & Zizan Razak

Yesterday the sun published the interview I have done to promote the film Polis Evo which will hit the cinemas on Sept 17. Below is the full article 

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Headline: On The Side of the Law

By Bissme S 

You might think having two big stars acting together in one film will end up with a clash of egos. But that was not the case on the set of Polis Evo, Ghaz Abu Bakar’s latest film.

The director says he did not face any such problem with his two leads, popular comedian Zizan Razak and award-winning actor Shaheizy Sam, both of whom enjoy a huge fan base. To prevent any conflicts on set, Ghaz said he made sure the script was fair to both his lead actors.

“I gave them equal screen time and equally challenging roles,” says the director, who has worked with Zizan a few times – in Hantu Kapcai (2012), Tokan (2013) and this year’s Cicakman 3.

“I made sure I did not give more attention to one actor over the other,” says Ghaz.

"Nobody felt neglected on my set.”

Moreover, Ghaz has known both actors long before this film project started.

“They respect me as a director and a friend. They are professionals and listen to what I have to say.”

Both actors agree there was no enmity on set between them.

“I do not believe in overshadowing my costars,” says Sam, who has acted in more than 20 films.

“It always takes teamwork to make a scene effective and believable.”

He stressed that an actor’s job is to make his role look convincing and not to plot on how to steal the thunder from his co-stars.

In fact, to create chemistry between their characters, Sam made it a point to hang out with Zizan off- camera.

“We would go for meals and discuss our characters,” he says.

Their intense discussions motivated the actors to give better performances. Zizan also sings high praises of his co-star, adding that he has always admired Sam as an actor because he feels Sam always puts his heart and soul into any character he plays.

Polis Evo also marks the first time the two actors have worked together on a film. This buddy cop action film isproduced under the Astro Shaw banner and centres on two police officers, Inspector Khai (played by Sam) and Inspector Sani (Zizan). The two come from different backgrounds – Khai is a city cop, while Sani is from a rural area. Their opposing personalities and styles put them at loggerheads, yet, they must work together to take down a drug syndicate.

According to Ghaz: “Both characters are smart but their method of solving crime is totally different.

“They also have big egos and this prevents them from becoming friends. However, they have to put their animosity aside to solve a crime.”

According to Zizan, the experience on this film has been really memorable.

“Sam is never stingy in sharing his knowledge with me,” he says,

adding that this role also allows the audience to see a different – more

serious – side of him, where his jokes are more subtle.

“What I like best about this film is that it does not focus on the

action scenes alone. It also emphasises the relationship between the two cops as well as that of their family members.”

For Sam, his character Khai is a serious cop who is good at his job but not good in forming relationships with other people.

“Secretly, I think Khai is a little jealous of Sani because Sani has family and friends who love him.”

To get into the skin of his character, Sam bulked up by spending five months in the gym and eating a strict, high protein diet.

“What I am doing is nothing new,” he says as he strongly believes that an actor must mould himself to fit into the character that he is playing,

whether it’s working out or gaining weight.

His role in Polis Evo also has a special meaning for Sam, as his late father was a policeman.

“Most of the time, my father went to work very early in the morning and came home late at night,” he recalls.

“As a result, I did not get to see much of him. He was a disciplinarian and did not talk much. He died when I was hardly 12. I did not get a chance to know my father well. But I remembered I wanted to be a cop just like him.”

Indeed, playing this role has allowed him to fulfil his childhood dreams and, in a way, get to know his father a little better.

“Now, I know how it feels to be a policeman,” he says.

Polis Evo will be in cinemas starting from Sept 17.

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Scenes from Police Evo 

Saban Carrim

Today, theSun published my interview with the novelist Sabah Carrim. She talks about her passion for writing and understanding the world.

Headline: The Need To Write

Novelist  Sabah Carrim,32, confesses she never understood people when she was growing up. Writing was her vehicle to overcome this problem. Writing helps her make sense of the human race and the world she lives in.

“Writing disconnects me from my own world and allows me to travel to a different world and see how people feel,” she says.

“Writing also helps me come out of my comfort zone. I have always been curious about people and their motivations and their intentions.

“I want to know how deep they are, how superficial they are, what kind of world they live in and what kind of conclusions they have about life.”

For the last 14 years, this Mauritius-born law graduate has made Kuala Lumpur her second home. Currently, she is a PhD student in political studies and a part-time editor.

“I have always been interested in writing since I was a child,” says Sabah.

“I wrote poetry, short stories and plays. In fact, I wrote my first play when I was eight.”

To date, Sabah has written two novels. Her first, Humeriah, was published three years ago. The book tells of a woman who is on a journey to try and find the meaning of her life.

“I began Humeriah when I was only 16,” says Sabah, but the book was only published 14 years later – in 2012.During the years in between, she kept revisiting her first manuscript and making many changes.

“I have no regrets publishing my first novel 14 years later,”

says Sabah. 
“You cannot become a philosopher when you are 21. You need to experience life first.”

She also believes that one needs a certain level of maturity before becoming a novelist. In April, Sabah produced her second novel, Semi-Apes. The story revolves around Heera, a clinical psychologist, who talks about the bleakest memories of her childhood and family life. Though both her novels focus on relationships, she explains that they are different.

“In my first book, the focus is more on the relationship between a man and a woman while my second book looks at the relationship between a child and her parents,” she explains.

Humeriah, the title character in her first book, is a suffering soul stuck in a life she doesn’t want and who is always wondering if life out there is worth pursuing, while Heera is more confident and assertive.

The other big difference is that Humeriah is written in the third person, while Semi-Apes in written in the first person. Because of that, some might assume that the latter book could be based on her own life.

“Writing in the first person is difficult, and I know the implications,” she says.

“You are bare and you are nude, and you are facing the world and the world can judge however it wants and you must be ready for its judgment.

“One person who pushed me into writing is [British Indian novelist and essayist] Salman Rushdie.

“In his book Midnight’s Children [which won the Booker

Prize in 1981], he talks about his parents.

“His father, who is an Oxford graduate, reacted badly to Salman’s depiction of him. Strangely, his mother who is not highly educated like his father, took Salman’s depiction of her well and accepted his book as a work of fiction.

“Salman has given me the courage to write. In fact, I always believe that the first few stories an author writes are always (his/ her) own stories. You have to be prepared for any kind of judgement.”

Sabah will be officially launching her book Semi-Apes this Saturday at 2pm, with a book reading and a question and-answer plus signing session, at the MPH outlet in Mid Valley Megamall.

Sabah Carrim

Her first book

Her second book

Daven, CCTV

Today my interview with the film maker Daven R was published in theSun today.  Here is the full story: 

Headline: The Man In Charge  
By Bissme S

A Good film has to have a good story. That is what local cinematographer Daven R. believes. Last year, when he directed his first feature film, CCTV, he applied this principle to his work.
“The main strength of CCTV is the storyline which has a few
interesting twists,” said the 43- year-old Daven.
This suspense thriller with a touch of horror opens in cinemas on July 30. The RM1.5 million movie focuses on a technician, Hariri (played by Aeril Zafrel), who is instructed by his boss to fix a CCTV camera in an old hospital.
While repairing the camera, he accidentally falls, knocking himself out and injuring his head and leg. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself a patient at the hospital.
While recuperating, he meets some creepy patients and begins seeing strange things.The doctor in charge, Dr Muthalib (Hasnol Rahmat), is a mysterious man who runs the hospital with an iron fist.
As time passes, Hariri has difficulty differentiating what is real and what is not. When he decides to investigate these strange happenings in the hospital, a shocking surprise awaits him.
Other members in the cast include Ardel Aryana, Jeff Omar, Dino Pak and Asliza Abdullah.
“The actors did a terrific job with their characters, giving
excellent performances to make their roles believable,” said Daven, who cited Hollywood’s Steven Spielberg and India’s Manirathnam as his favourite directors.
Although CCTV is his first feature film , Daven is not a rookie in the film industry. He made his debut as a cinematographer in 1999 for the critically-acclaimed indie film Bukak Api which focused on sex workers in Kuala Lumpur’s Chow Kit Road.
Since then, he has been a cinematographer for countless local films such as Gong, Susuk, Cun and Adnan Sempit, with a career spanning 15 years. One wonders what took him so long to direct his own film.
Daven said: “Directing a movie is almost like playing God. You decide everything that goes on the set, from the beginning to the end. You decide how a film should be shaped.
“So, I cannot just sit in the director’s chair. I took as much time as I needed to sharpen my skills. The more work I did as a cinematographer, the more knowledge I gained to be a director.”
Daven admits having some regrets directing his first feature film so late in his career.
“Today, you’ll find many young filmmakers directing their first feature film the moment they graduate from school,” he says.
“They are hardly 25, and they have already directed their first feature film!
“Having said that, I must be grateful that I did not abandon my dream to be a filmmaker. It is better late than never.”
His biggest influences came from his dad, a film projectionist.
“My father had a mobile cinema,” said Daven. 
“He travelled from one small town to another to screen the films.”
Sometimes, Daven would follow his dad and help him set up the mobile cinema. Seeing the audiences’ reaction to the films inspired him to be a filmmaker.
When asked what is the philosophy behind his direction,
Daven says: “I want to direct movies that touch the emotions and have human values. [Look at] Iranian movies. They have simple plots. But their simple plots have a lot of subtext and deep messages.”
Daven is already in the middle of writing the script for his second feature film. Called Thambi, it will have Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia dialogue. The story focuses on two childhood friends, one Indian, and the other Malay.The Indian boy is forced to leave his village and his best friend to live in a big city. Years later, fate reunites them. This time, they are enemies. The Indian boy has become a gangster while the Malay boy is now a police inspector. If everything goes well, Daven says he will begin shooting Thambi next year. 

the director on the set 

Siti Nurhaliza

The popular singer Siti Nurhaliza talks to theSun about putting a musical theatre production that will tell the story of her life to her fans out there. Read here for the full story.  

Headline: A Musical About Siti 
By Bissme S

Malaysian  diva Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, 36, will be telling the story of her life in a musical theatre production that is planned to be staged for eight days in November at Istana Budaya. Konsert Musical Fragment Datuk Siti Nurhaliza will focus on her childhood years, her success in music and her present-day life. The 36-year-old singer wants to do something special for her many loyal fans
who have been supporting her for the last 20 years, and she feels this musical will be the perfect gift.
“The musical will give my fans a glimpse of my life behind the glamorous stage persona,” she said of the three-hour production which is still in the planning stages.
It will also look at her controversial marriage to the man who stole her heart, Datuk Seri Khalid Muhammad Jiwa, better known as Datuk K. They were married in 2006. Siti is now looking for actresses to play her through the various stages of her life, as well as an actor to play her husband. She said the musical will likely have two different actresses playing her – a child actress to represent her in her childhood, and a younger actress to play her when she first started her career in music.
“I will make an appearance near the end of the musical,” Siti said. 
“Of course, I will sing too.”
She has a few names in mind but declines to reveal who they are for now. She said she will announce the cast when the time is right.
Besides music and dances, the musical will also have footage of her childhood and teenage years projected on a screen. Some of this footage has never been shown in public before.
More recently, on the music front, Siti has released her latest album,
Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Unplugged, which has 18 tracks featuring stripped down versions of her songs.
The recording of this album took place when she held a two hour, soldout concert called Datuk Siti Unplugged at Istana Budaya in April this year. During the show, she sang all her popular hit songs from her 20-year career.
“It was always my dream to perform an unplugged concert,” she said. 
“My concert was only held for one day and it played to a full house. Many of my fans did not even manage to get tickets to see my concert.”
That motivated her to release this album for the many fans who did not manage to catch her concert and also for those who want to hear her songs again.
Siti also lamented on the current state of the entertainment industry in Malaysia. She agrees with the many local singers who have complained that the Malaysian music industry is in a terrible shape. Yet, she believes there is still hope to revive the industry.
“We need corporate companies to support local singers whenever we have concerts here,” she said.
“When foreign artistes come here to perform, their concerts get a good response.
“We have many good singers, from Jaclyn Victor to Anuar Zain, who can pull in the crowd. Without strong sponsors, it is difficult for Malaysian singers to hold concerts.”
When asked if she has any other goals in life, Siti said: ”I would like to hold concerts outside Malaysia. I want to entertain my fans abroad.”
She hinted that perhaps a concert in London or Australia would be a good start. 

Fadli Al- Akiti

Today theSun published my interview Fadli Al- Akiti who spoke about writing science fiction in his national language.

Headline: Going Beyond Reality 

FADLI AL-AKITI is one of those science fiction authors who can draw their readers into a world that is totally different from the one we all live in, a world that is created purely from their imagination.
Fadli  who is also the editor of Dewan Sastera (a magazine under the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka stable), has so far come out with four science fiction books, including the latest, Gugurnya Azazil,published by Simptomatik Press.
The book was released in April and is now available in major bookstores.The story takes place in the future where an entity is slowly destroying the universe. An astronaut takes up the dangerous task of returning to the present day to stop the creature.
Fadli’s other books also have similarly thrilling plots. His first book, Jian, was published in 2003. He wrote it when he was just 18 after his form five exams. The book tells of an isolated village where the people are suddenly dying from what looks like an alien virus.
Fadli’s second novel Saga Horizon came out five years later. The story is set in a future where Earth has become a barren place, and the human race has lost its humanity.
Early this year, he co-wrote Leksikon Ledang with science fiction author Nor Azida Ishak. This story has several interlinked plotlines, beginning with a biochemist who is conducting experiments using
mosquito DNA. At the same time, an illegal logger is attacked by something strange after finding some treasure in the middle of a forest.The story then shifts back to the 16th century, where a 
beautiful princess confronts a king who promises to give her the blood of an innocent boy. Leksikon Ledang recently won the second prize at the Sayembara Fiksyen Sains & Teknology UTM–Kumpulan Utusan science fiction novel competition.
Fadli is now working on his fifth book, which deals with the concept of artificial intelligence and the apocalypse. He spoke to theSun in this exclusive interview about the challenges of being a Malay science fiction writer.

*Who sparked your interest in writing science fiction?

My mother is a big fan of science fiction films. She used to take me to see these films,such as Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. From movies, I went on to read science fiction novels. That was when I became exposed to authors like H.G. Wells, Frank Herbert and Michael Crichton.I wanted to find out if there were any authors writing this genre in the national language. That’s when I discovered our own Rahmat Haroun. I consider him to be the father of Malay science fiction novels.

*What are some of the biggest challenges you faced?

Before Simptomatik Press, I presented Gugurnya Azazil to two other publishers. But they told me that my book was only for children. I think that is a very myopic view. Science fiction appeals to everyone, not just children. If the local publishing industry wants grow, we need to broaden our horizons. Look at the Harry Potter books. Even adults are reading them.
On another occasion, the publishers were not happy with the cloning element in Saga Horizon. They felt I was
going against Islamic teachings, and asked me to rewrite those chapters. I felt as if I was forced to kill my unborn child. But in the end, everything worked out for the best and I’m happy with the
changes I made.Now, you can find many Malay science fiction novels tackling the issue of cloning.

* As a Muslim writer, do you censor yourself when writing your novels?

I would like to think that I do not censor myself. As a Muslim writer, I always put God first.But I believe you can blend religion and science in your work.
I also believe science fiction readers are smart. They will not easily label you murtad (apostate) just because you brought the dead back to life.In fact, my favourite author Rahmat tackled this theme in his novel Di. Ar. Ti (about a doctor who is obsessed about resurrecting the dead), which was published in the 1990s.

*What do you think of the Malay-language science fiction scene?

When I started writing, it was a niche market. But today, the market has grown. Now, there are many readers who want to read Malay science fiction with original ideas. They do not want to read books that copy ideas from western science fiction.Writing science fiction is not child’s play. You have to do a lot of research and gather a lot of scientific data before writing your story.In science fiction, you are dealing with impossibilities, and it is your job as a writer to make the impossible look believable to your readers. And you can only achieve that aim if you have done your research properly.

Kerja Kahwin & Anwardi Jamil

Today theSun publishes my interview with director Anwardi Jamil  who is making a Malaysian film that focuses a traditional Malay wedding.

Headline : Marrying Culture

By Bissme S  

A traditional Malay wedding is the central focus of Anwardi Jamil’s latest film Kerja Kahwin that will open in cinemas at the end of the year.

“There are few Malaysian movies that highlight the beauty of Malay culture,” says Anwardi, who not only directed the film but also wrote the script.

Instead, he points to Indonesian filmmakers who had brilliantly highlighted their culture in their films. He cites, for example, Ifa Isfansyah’s 2011 film Sang Penari, which features ronggeng, a type of Javanese dance. The film went on to win best picture and best director at the Indonesian Film Festival. Last year, another Indonesian filmmaker, Adriyanto Dewo, highlighted the traditional nasi padang in his film, Tabula Rasa, which has been gaining rave reviews in Indonesia as well as abroad. Nasi padang is a traditional dish from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. It comprises steamed rice served with various choices of meat and vegetables. In the case of Anwardi’s Kerja Kahwin, the film centres on Farah who is fulfilling her grandmother’s wish to have a traditional Malay village wedding instead of a modern one in an expensive hotel. But preparing for a wedding is never an easy affair. This is evident in the film where chaos, tension and confusion reign. There are also funny moments that will make you laugh.

To Anwardi, “a Malay wedding is the perfect vehicle to showcase our Malay culture without being pretentious”.

He adds: “A Malay wedding has everything – food, music, dance, culture and also a lot of weird relatives.”

But he laments that a lot of cultural elements in Malay weddings are slowly disappearing.

“If you go to an urban Malay wedding that takes place in a hotel, you will find the sound of the kompang (a Malay traditional drum) being played from a CD player. They no longer hire kompang players.

“A few even discard some of the ceremonies performed in a Malay wedding such as bunga telur (to signify fertility) and merenjis air mawar (sprinkling of the rosewater on both the bride and groom) because these ceremonies [allegedly] go against Islamic teachings.

“I think that is very sad. The Malay culture has been in existence for thousands of years and we should be cherishing our culture, not discarding them, so easily.

“If you keep saying some of the ceremonies in Malay weddings are against Islamic teachings, then what you are implying is that the things our grandmothers and our greatgrandmothers did for their wedding ceremonies were un-Islamic! I really believe our culture can co-exist peacefully with our religion.” 

Kerja Kahwin is Anwardi’s fourth film. Interestingly, the movie is made with a budget of only RM400,000 and the entire movie was shot within five days in April in Janda Baik, Pahang.

Anwardi says: “I want to make big movies but big movies require big budgets. There are very few producers who are willing to fork out that kind of money.”

So Anwardi decided to be creative and worked within the budget he could get.

“I had a good production team and the weather was good to me and that is reason I managed to wrap this film up in a short period of time.”

Playing Farah is newcomer Janna Nick (inset and above) while the grandmother is played by veteran actress Datuk Rosnani Jamil (above), who is also Anwardi’s mother. Others in the cast include A.R. Badul (above, left), Aziz M. Osman, Mubarak Majid and Saharuddin Thamby.

Anwardi has plans to show the film in international film festivals including the Venice film festival.

“The cultural aspect of the film will appeal to foreign audiences out there,” he reasons.

 He is also writing the script for his next film, One Night in Happy World, based on how the popular song, Selamat Hari Raya, came about in 1958. The song was composed by the late legendary P. Ramlee while the lyrics was written by his late father, film director Datuk Jamil Sulong.

“At that time, the local film industry was located in Singapore and there was an actors’ strike,” he says. “To earn extra money, the actors decide to put on a variety show at a well-known nightclub called Happy World. “That is where the Hari Raya song was born.”

He says he plans on shooting the film next year.

Anwardi ... we should cherishing our culture.