In May 2021, I was approached by The Esplanade for a commissioned project. The theme is to revolve the Nusantara. After much thought, I have decided to go cultural by incorporating Silat, the Malay martial arts, and Puisi Sajak, or Malay poetry.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
I am constantly exploring the Singapore Malay identity. In adapting Tuah and Jebat, popular heroic figures from The Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu), questions about these identities are deconstructed and redefined as their roles and timelines are subverted. In Pendekar, Jebat has seen much of the world. He is weary but wise. Tuah is young, idealistic and zestful. They both are still on a journey of self discovery.
I have always been inspired my the martial arts films from Chinese auteur Zhang Yimou and his contemporaries. He brings beauty and ballet into each of his scenes. The framing and mis-en-sene looks like a Chinese painting. Film like Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Shadow are mesmerising masterpieces from Zhang Yimou. I have always been intrigue by movement in performance art.
Incorporating silat would be a good opportunity to channel that inspiration. To top it, I decided that the puisi sajak is a good way to round off the visual essay about warriors and soul of a nation.
“Transported to the modern world, Tuah learns how to navigate his new environment while reflecting upon his existence. In his journey, he meets Jebat, an encounter that causes a shift in his perspective.”
Production: reeljuice
Director of Photography: Sofyan Daud Mohamed
Martial Arts: Perguruan Silat Harimau Minangkabau Singapura (Tiger Silat Minangkabau Association of Singapore)
Poetry: Muhammad Salihin Sulaiman Jeem
Voice: Joe Jasmi
Translation: Suhaimi Nasrain
Post-production: Gravitate Pte Ltd
Premieres on 10 June, Thursday, 8pm
Thank you to Each and Everyone who made this beautiful project possible.
Watch the PENDEKAR trailer here.
No comments:
Post a Comment