By Pang Khee Teik Toh Hai Leong, a Singaporean film critic, is highly annoying, and not just because he is Singaporean. If you inadvertently acknowledge him, he will talk incessantly at you, not with you. Once, thinking he wouldn’t notice, I turned my back. He immediately ranted, “You young ones, don’t be so big shot. […]
By Kelvin K. Wong Having been disappointed by two out of three plays from The Actors Studio’s Malaysian Playwright Series, I admit to being quite sceptical about the fourth instalment. Gavin Yap, who pioneered the series with his not-that-sweet Sweet Nothing, has just staged his second play at The Actors Studio Bangsar (Sep 2 – […]
By Fiona Lee It was with mixed feelings of pride and nostalgia that I attended three Malaysian film screenings at the 27th Asian-American International Film Festival in New York City. From July 16 to 24, New Yorkers had the opportunity to view a sampling of works by Malaysian independent filmmakers, which were showcased alongside other […]
By Khalid Jaafar Sebelum diterbitkan di Beijing, penerbit Mo Yan, penulis novel Red Sorghum yang difilemkan dengan arahan Zhang Yimou dan lakunan Gong Li, membuat publisiti untuk novel terbaharunya. Media riuh dan pengkritik naik rebut. Mengapa tajuknya begitu celupar, atau mencarut? Kemudian suara-suara lantang muncul menuntut Mo Yan menukar tajuk novel terbaharunya. Mo Yan enggan. […]
By Alfian Sa’at Heard of the pink dollar? It’s the latest trans-national currency. It’s not actually pink in colour, and denominations don’t come in the form of queer three dollar bills, but the purported ability of the pink dollar to cross territorial borders makes the Euro seem like last century’s news. Some people consider the […]
By Woo Ming Jin After months of hype and anticipation that reached the levels of a Paris Hilton video, I am finally going to watch Puteri Gunung Ledang! As an independent filmmaker, I had been enveloped with some sense of pride after hearing it had been selected to screen at the Venice International film festival, […]
By Kathy Rowland “Bukan budaya kita.” It’s a phrase that crops up in the oddest of places. A municipal newsletter denouncing satire, a political speech vilifying men and women singing on stage together, a police officer dumping the rising crime rate on immigrants. With so many people telling us what our culture is not, one […]
By Zedeck Siew I find Childhood Reminiscence a generally enjoyable pastime, being someone who was sniggering about sex not too long ago. Brickfields… Now & Then was surprising for the same reason: I saw 53-year-old Thor Kah Hoong hop about, flail his arms, stand on a chair, squat on the floor, put his head in […]
By Hasmi Hashim Katakanlah, kita akan membubuhkan nama untuk lapangan seni lukis nasional hari ini, sudah tentu ia bukan medan “Kurusetre.” Ya! Kurusetre: sebuah medan atau lapangan perang antara pasukan Pendawa lawan Kurawa, dalam puncak kisah Mahabrata – penuh tipu muslihat, kemahiran guna senjata, sebuah tragedi, busur yang melepaskan anak panah, akan hujung kisah cinta… […]
By Goenawan Mohamad Goenawan Mohamad’s opening speech at the World Poetry Festival, Kuala Lumpur, 17 August 2004 **** I would like to thank you for having me here, in this extraordinary gathering of poets, and for giving me the honour to begin our conversation. However, I must confess my nervousness; I know that each time […]
