Authenticity

What is authenticity in an age when making films is often about meeting national KPIs and maximising returns? Is one Singapore story less important because it does not qualify for a prestigious film festival, or because it does not get made at all?

I was asked similar questions during the post-screening discussion for PENDEKAR, attended by about 100 very enthusiastic filmgoers. It was overwhelming because PENDEKAR was my Singaporean-Malay-Bawean ode to Nusantara, the broader Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia. It was commissioned by The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay.

It was also overwhelming to discuss authenticity because, where I come from, Malay is the national language, English is the main language of communication, and Singapore Malays make up only 13.5% of its residents.

Each of my films reflects my own evolution in social awareness as a Singaporean filmmaker. Much of my work is about deconstructing my identity and questioning mainstream Malay texts.

PENDEKAR became a way for me to discover myself in relation to my fellow Singaporeans, both Malay and non-Malay. More importantly, it explores how this Malay sees himself in relation to his rakan serumpun in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, where Malay culture forms a dominant part of the respective national identities.

It is also about reclaiming my identity and telling my story in my own way before someone else hijacks my cultural narrative.

Am I less Malay because I do not speak much of the language or subscribe to accepted Malay norms? Is there such a thing as an absolute Malay or an absolute Malayness, even in a Malay-dominant country?

The festival had actually provided me with a Malay-translator but I deliberately spoke in my best Melayu during the session out of respect for the film festival. It was a privilege to be in Jambi, literally at the heart of the Nusantara Malay Archipelago. It was also an opportunity to discover just how much of a Malay I am.

I even threw the question back to the audience and asked how “Malay” PENDEKAR felt through its visual cues and mise-en-scène. 😅

Terimakasih kepada semua komunitas sineas yang hadir, harap senang dengar aku bicara tentang PENDEKAR dalam bahasa filem yang tidak pernah aku lakukan sebelum ini 🙏🏽

Choice and sanity

It was almost 10.30 pm. I was watching “My Neighbour, Totoro” (Hayao Mizayaki) when I received the following rather perplexing text from an award-winning actor and a published writer;

“Bro…. Kenapa aktor kau berbual macam cikgu sekolah? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 (Lead's name) cannot make it sak.” 

[Why does your lead actor speak with a formal accent? ...Fail!]

“I am not convinced that she was brought up by a Malay family. I have a lot of Chinese aunties who was adopted by Malay family”

Let’s break down these texts and their implications.

I receive many feedback for my work. In the past, I would get affected very much especially by the unsavoury remarks. It would have affected me for days. Deep down, the imposter syndrome would manifest by validating that I am never good enough, despite the multiple awards in writing and directing for television and international accreditations my films have received. The doubtful intent of the remarks impacted how I receive them.

In the motivational speakers that I followed on YouTube and TikTok, one of the key points often brought up touches how successful people are often the subject of envy from the insecure. They create negative detractions and subsequently use these to gaslight. It’s always about seeking their own validation while dismissing others. The later’s process and outcome is thus declared redundant. The speakers also reminded the best way to deal with toxic people is simply, to ignore them - by not returning the negative energy that they so crave. We invalidate their energy this way.

Just because you are triggered, doesn’t make you right.

These days, for my mental health I have learnt to pick my battles.

As much as I appreciate public feedback, I take these with a pinch of salt. But when it comes from peers, I question the intention of the feedback. The degree of engagement also takes into account credibility and consistency in respective production tasks and scope.

A person who claimed to be learned in the craft would be familiar with Process such as research, writing (and rewriting), scripting, structure, network feedback, on set unpredictability over scheduling, weather and location availability, and most importantly, Context.

Representation often raises question on authenticity. Where do you draw the line to be ethnically conscious?

I remember when the Oscar-winning film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” came out, my Chinese friends pointed that the accents and linguistics of the Chinese actors’ spoken Mandarin were jarring. The film starred Michelle Yeoh (Malaysia), Chow Yuen Fatt (Hong Kong), Zhang Ziyi (China), Zheng Pei-pei (Hong Kong), Chang Chen (Taiwan) among others. These actors have different Mandarin accents based on their background. I could just imagine the struggle that director Ang Lee (Taiwan) would have gone through with regards to these different accents to contextualise the film which is set during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).

In the film “Crazy Rich Asians”, many Singaporeans question the authenticity of the locations and American-Chinese actors casted to represent the Singaporean-Chinese. The Malaysians laughed that many of the locations used in the film were in fact shot in Malaysia.

In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee sought to present a "China of the imagination" rather than an accurate vision of Chinese history. How would you decide if you are Ang Lee?

"Mencari Hajar" is based on the collective life journey of many women’s experience. The story is based on the deductive outcome of experiences collated from research. It is not a biopic. There is one narrative to tell based on the single trajectory of collective experiences. This trajectory is where the screenplay (a crucial process before scripting), develops based on intensive discussion in the “writers’ room”.

I welcome all feedback, because feedback feeds the creative growth. But I learn to manage who I engage with. I consume feedback that brings value to the process, not one that clouds it.

By the way, there are many factors beyond family in the development of accent.

Genetic, friends and education affect how we speak.

After My Neighbour, Totoro, I continued to watch another of Hayao Mizayaki’s masterpiece and Oscar-winning, suspension in disbelief animation feature, “Spirited Away”.

And my response to that text?
“Thank you for watching 👍🏽”

Telemovie: MENCARI HAJAR

MENCARI HAJAR, trailer.
Begins streaming on Hari Raya Haji 2023 on MeWatch and Youtube

The trailer

(Post WW2, it was common for newborn girls especially, to be given away for adoption. Many of these babies grew up detached from their birth families. Many adapted well into the adopted culture, while others may struggle with their identity from the detachment.)

Born Chinese, Hajar was given away as a baby to a Malay-Muslim family and raised as one. Her past catches up with her as Hajar prepares for her first Haj. How would she deal with the discovery of her hidden past?

Production: Shortmen Production
Director + co-writer: Sanif Olek
Original idea + script: Lea Samudera

Cast: Nora Samosir, Sharon Ismail, Joyce Harn, Michael H Chua

OST song composer: Mayuni Omar
Song vocals: Hazrul Nizam

The filming process: MENCARI HAJAR telemovie

MENCARI HAJAR, telemovie.
Begins streaming on Hari Raya Haji 2023 on MeWatch and Youtube

The filming process

During production, I try to find that sweet spot between what I am comfortable with and what the circumstances on set have to offer. I work with the parameters I have been given (…and in local television production there are many, yet remain loyal to my visual style - staying true to my identity - but importantly, translating the script visually without missing what the scene is really all about.

I remind myself there is a great and important story to be told and that one has to tell the story with sensitivity regardless of the circumstances on set.

My approach has been informed by great designers like Fritz Hansen, Hay and Zaha Hadid, to name a few. In recent times my visual style has been influenced by transformative industrial designers and playful artists. If you are not familiar with these designers, they produce designs that are minimalist yet very functional but, most importantly, organic and beautiful to the eye.

In the past my directing approach was often about being elaborate, but I soon realised that often these styles were unintentionally reductive as a consequence of being imitative of filmmakers famous before me.

My professional experience in long-form drama informs me that anything and everything that can go wrong on set, will go wrong. Thus experience taught me to constantly relook into the basic, minimalist yet innovative way to translate the script visually without compromising the story.

So in summary what I have learnt from these designers, as cliched as it may sound, is that “less is more”.

It is easy to distract from the flaws in core storytelling by overwhelming the audience with style, especially during post-production, when most of the time these distractions are unnecessary, a superficial and nice laminate to veneer the disappointingly flawed particle board if you like. But to continue the cliches, to each his own.

Thus, I go back to the heart, the performance of the actor and their interaction with the camera lens. I remind myself that on set limitations can still be overcome when you have great performances from actors and hardworking filming crew who are loyal to your style and always have your back. Through decluttering bombastic stylistic distractions and with circumstantial limitations out of the way I am freed to get into both the heart of the story and the souls of the characters.

MENCARI HAJAR stars Nora Samosir, Sharon Ismail, Joyce Harn, Michael Chua with Shahril Wahid & Sani Hussin. The telemovie begins streaming in MeWatch Mediacorp on Hari Raya Haji 2023.

Bilingual with English subtitles.

Directed and co-written by yours truly.

The script process; MENCARI HAJAR telemovie

MENCARI HAJAR, telemovie.
Begins streaming on Hari Raya Haji 2023 on MeWatch and Youtube

The scripting process.

The most important aspect of documentation is to go to the ground and actually meet the subjects about whom you’re telling the story.

I may be privileged to have researchers available to do the work for me, but nothing surpasses having real conversations with the respective profiles, to find that conscious connection with their life journeys. This explains why I insist on meeting the characters in person.

In Mencari Hajar, I have had the privilege of meeting 5 ladies whose life journeys parallel Hajar’s, the protagonist in the telemovie MENCARI HAJAR (streaming on MeWatch from Hari Raya Haji 2023).

Born Chinese in 1950, Hajar, was given away as a baby to a Malay-Muslim family and raised as one. Her past catches up with her as Hajar prepares for her first Haj. How would she deal with the discovery of her hidden past?

(Post WW2, it was common for Chinese newborn girls to be given away for adoption. Many adapted well into their respective adopted culture, while others may struggle with their identity from the detachment.)

The ladies fall into two camps; one has reunited with her Chinese family, the other has not and doesn’t want to meet them. The main reason for the latter is out of respect for the Malay family who raised her. In fact, even talking in private to me about that part of her life is regarded by her as somewhat out of line.

For context, around post-World War2, many Chinese newborn girls were given away for adoption to Malay families. These babies were given away due to many beliefs inherent in the culture during that period with having baby girls.

Regardless of who they are, they both seem to have moved past their respective traumas and now appear strong. Yet at times during conversations, there were hints of them being affected and even slightly bitter about having been given away.

The second arc in MENCARI HAJAR deals with victims of scammers. Research shows that scammers do not choose their victims. Anyone can be a victim. I chose a high-flying, career woman to be a victim to emphasis this important point.

MENCARI HAJAR stars Nora Samosir, Sharon Ismail, Joyce Harn, Michael Chua with Shahril Wahid & Sani Hussin. The telemovie begins streaming in Mediacorp MeWatch on Hari Raya Haji 2023.

Bilingual with English subtitles.

Directed and co-written by yours truly.