Yasmin Ahmad, the Barrier-Breaking Director

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This is The Keongomaniac's tribute to the film works of Yasmin Ahmad, the critically-acclaimed Malaysian director, who passed away a few days ago on the 25 July 2009. Known for her ability (and nerve) in breaking cultural barriers albeit at times controversial, her enlightened vision inspire many on the art of film-making and its ways in portraying one's perspective on especially contentious and unchallenged social norms.

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YASMIN AHMAD

1958 - 2009

The Director who Broke Barriers

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Well-known film works of Yasmin Ahmad:
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The "Orked Trilogy" - Sepet, Gubra, and Mukhsin
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SEPET (Chinese Eyes) - 2004
"One Chinese boy, one Malay girl, one unforgetable love story"
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Starring Sharifah Amani as Orked, and Ng Choo Seong as Jason
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The premise of this movie is very simple, a love story between a Malay girl and a Chinese boy amidst the diverse Malaysian cultural fabric, which is steeped with social and racial pressures.

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What stands out for me in this film is the way Yasmin Ahmad was able to portray the realities of how social expectations tend to govern even the young. In doing so, the characters break such norms, with bitter-sweet repercussions.

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AWARDS:

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Best Asian Film Award (18th Tokyo International Film Festival 2005)

Best Film (27th Creteil International Women's Film Festival, France)

Best Film (18th Malaysian Film Festival)

Best Film (Global Chinese Golden Arts Awards)

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GUBRA (Anxiety) - 2006
"Why do we hurt the most, the ones we love the most?"
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Starring Sharifah Amani as Orked, Adlin Ahmad Ramli as Ariff
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This sequel, fast-forwarded a few years, sees Orked married to a much older Malay men named Ariff. Orked's father fell ill, and therein at the hospital Orked meets Jason's brother. There is also a separate side story about a prostitute in the village side.

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In this film, Yasmin Ahmad bravely included controversial scenes not typically seen in a conservative Malay film, such as the depiction of husband-and-wife bathing together, and a religious man touching a dog.

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AWARDS:
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Best Film (Malaysian Film Festival 2006)
Best Actress - Sharifah Amani (Malaysian Film Festival, 2006)
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MUKHSIN - 2007
"Everyone has a first love story to tell"
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Starring Sharifah Aryana as young Orked, and Mohd Syafie Naswip as Mukhsin

This third installment to the "Orked Trilogy" takes the audience back to the 10-year-old Orked, where she has her first childhood romance with a boy name Mukhsin.

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While it is unclear how this love story could have impacted Orked's later inclinations toward out-of-the-norm guys, but in a way Mukhsin was already one of them. The adult Orked also made an appearance as part of a 'alternate reality', where she meets her 10-year-old self.

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AWARDS:
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Best Feature Film - Generation Kplus (Berlin International Film Festival 2006)
Crystal Bear - Special Mention (Berlin International Film Festival 2006)
Best ASEAN Film (Cinemanila International Film Festival 2007)
Best Child Actor - Mohd Syafie Naswip (Malaysian Film Festival 2007)
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MUALLAF (The Convert) - 2008
"It is in forgiving that we are forgiven"
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Starring Sharifah Amani as Rohani, and Brian Yap as Brian Goh
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Clearly the most controversial of Yasmin Ahmad's films, Muallaf dives heads-on in the role of socio-religious dynamics in everyday society. The question of love, forgiveness and faith plays a central theme in this movie.

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Muallaf was first screened in Singapore in 2008, via The Cathay's The Picturehouse. The movie however has yet to be screened in Malaysia due to its highly controversial elements such as the shaving bald of a Muslim female. It is slated for a 2010 release, that is if it passes the censorship authorities by then.

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AWARDS:
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Special Mention Best Asian-Middle Eastern Film (21st Tokyo International Film Festival)
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May God bless the artful soul of the barrier-breaking film-maker that was Yasmin Ahmad. Amin.
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