There’s A Kind of Hush

By Khoo Gaik Cheng Ho Yuhang’s Sanctuary, which had garnered a Special Mention at last year’s Pusan International Film Festival, distinguishes itself from mainstream cinema in many ways: minimal dialogue, slow pace and almost humdrum nature, seeming lack of suspense and seeming absence of narrative drive. ‘Seeming’ is the keyword here as it is all […]

Elastic Reality

By Sharaad Kuttan Nicely shot, simply told, Chemman Chaalai, is a must see for all those interested in the many directions that Malaysian ‘indie’ films are taking. Billed as a “Malaysian Indian Story” this movie is simple but badly paced, beautiful but lacking emotional or psychological depth. The rather po-faced protagonist’s struggle for education and […]

Filem Tempang ke Rotterdam

By Amir Muhammad Filem Independen lstilah ‘Filem independen’ diwujudkan di Amerika pada tahun 1980an untuk merujuk kepada filem yang tidak diusahakan atau ditaja oleh mana-mana studio besar di negara itu. Kemudian nama-nama seperti Spike Lee, Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino dan Michael Moore mula menjadi sebutan. Tapi sebelum istilah itu wujudpun, terdapat beberapa pembikin filem seperti […]

Si Pelarian dan Si Penderma

By Mislina Mustaffa Hannah & Hanna. Kedua-duanya remaja 16 tahun. Usia yang ingin keluar dari kepompong rutin keluarga. Usia di mana persahabatan adalah alternatif kebersamaan yang sangat penting. Dan usia yang kritikal dalam pembentukan psikologi dan sahsiah diri. Hannah dan Hanna bertemu dalam kekalutan pencarian identiti. Hanna, si pelarian Kosovo ingin mencari tempat berlindung untuk […]

Adrenalin Meluap

By Remin Noir Suasana pada petang 8 januari yang lalu di depan kelab Hard Rock Cafe terasa berbeza dari petang hari-hari yang lain. Udara petang terasa panas walau kadang keadaan bertukar redup buat satu waktu. Suasana redup yang sekadar sebentar memang memberi perlindungan yang baik buat ramai peminat yang beratur panjang di depan Hard Rock […]

In the Year of the Tsunami – Pt. 2

By Pang Khee Teik Film: 157 (last year: 196) Why do spineless cowards and sycophants keep saying that giving freedom to artists will result in total chaos and anarchy? Will the country fall apart if a local movie shows a Malay girl who doesn’t try to convert her Chinese boyfriend to Islam? If our national […]

In the Year of the Tsunami – Pt. 1

By Pang Khee Teik Theatre: 138 productions (Last year: 148) In 2004, theatre began with three-and-a-half hours in hell, in the company of pretty pretty boys, that we call thespians. Painful from the first minute, the Chinese-language gay love story Sam & Jet should prove once and for all that not all gay men are […]

Mud and Makan

By Lucy Friedland Last month I was hanging out at Kafe Lidiana, one of my favorite nasi melayu stalls in Penang, after a lavish lunch of kari ikan, sayur manis and all the trimmings. With a start, I suddenly remembered it was Thanksgiving Day in the United States, one of the few holidays that my […]
PRESENTED BY