By RIZAL JOHAN

Doing the nation proud: The group of 15Malaysia filmmakers at the opening of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival: (from left) Desmond Ng, James Chong (chief executive of ruumz), Bahir Yeusuff, Khairil M. Bahar, Nam Ron, Pete Teo, Benji Lim, Linus Chung and Jordan Suleiman.

WHAT was it that led a big group of Malaysia’s independent filmmakers to Suyeong Bay Yachting Center, in Haeundae Beach, Busan, South Korea, on the eve of Oct 8 – the venue for the opening ceremony of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival? Their collective socio-political short films 15Malaysia? The organisers of the Pusan film fest? The project’s producer, Pete Teo, who spearheaded this project and picked all the filmmakers? Or was it the project’s sponsor – local WiMax broadband service provider Packet One (P1) who flew down all the filmmakers and a team of videographers, photographers, members of the Malaysian media and others to document and witness this unprecedented event?

Everything had happened so fast as soon as the first short film emerged in August. Teo himself hadn’t expected the type of attention and reaction to the project which featured actual politicians either playing themselves or in acting roles. Teo had only wanted to do his “bit” for “a country we all love” and all of a sudden, there he was on the red carpet of PIFF 2009 along with his band of directors in suits and ties with their heads held high, smiling ear-to-ear, taking in the screams of the Korean audience and the incessant camera flashes.

There they were, sharing the same stage with some of the biggest Korean and Asian stars as well as international celebs such as Josh Hartnett ... and this was only the first day! The festival featured other international guests over its course including Hollywood power-brokers Bryan Singer (director/producer of X-Men) and John Landau (producer of Titanic), Bollywood veteran Yash Chopra, Italian director Dario Argento and Hong Kong fimmaker Johnnie To.Prior to their red carpet experience, the Malaysian contingent of filmmakers had met up at KLIA airport to depart to Pusan on a midnight flight and they were already in high spirits about what the next day would bring but they were also counting their blessings.

“I was so busy at the time that I wasn’t sure I would be involved at all. At that time, the project was called 10Malaysia,” said Desmond Ng, the director of The Son whose full time job is a commercials director.“Pete and I have been friends for a long time and he called me and asked me if I would be interested. I simply had no time because I was busy with work but suddenly one of the jobs didn’t work out and I had this window of time. I had about a day to write the story before calling Pete and telling him I was free to do it,” said Ng who looked relieved and also disbelieving as we sat talking, waiting to board the plane.The same sentiments would also be echoed by 24-year-old Benji Lim who almost turned down the project.

“Pete had called me and said that Khairy (Jamaluddin) would be in the project (Meter) and I told him I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to be involved in something like this. But after thinking about it, I agreed to do it,” said Lim who was shaking his head, almost baulking at the memory and what he would have missed out on if he had said no.The camaraderie between the filmmakers was evident as soon as all of them gathered and greeted each other at KLIA. There was such glee in their faces and it was a laugh a minute as everyone was cracking jokes and enjoying every moment of it.

PIFF alumni Liew Seng Tat – whose feature debut Flower In The Pocket earned him the New Currents Award and the KNN Audience Award in PIFF 2007 – felt that travelling in a group had a different effect on him this time around.“It’s nice to go in such a big group. It’s a lot of fun,” said the boyish director of Halal, upon arrival at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul. The group had to get on a bus now to Gimpo International Airport and catch the final plane to Busan, check in to their respective hotels with a two hour window to freshen up and get ready for the red carpet event at the Suyeong Bay Yachting Center.

The opening ceremony was an open air event next to the beach that would kick off at dusk and there was already a long queue of people eargerly waiting to get inside to get a glimpse and photograph the stars who would be arriving later.By the time night fell at about 6.30pm, the place was packed with the festival’s guests and delegates and the army of star struck fans standing and eargerly waiting at either side of the red carpet runway.At 7pm, PIFF 2009 had officially begun with the arrival of stars on the red carpet. There were stars from South Korea, China and many other countries. They came either individually, as couples or a group of three to six people. When it was Malaysia’s turn, however, there was about a dozen of them.

It was a show of force by the numbers alone and they were the biggest group that night consisting of Teo, Ng, Lim, Liew, Woo Ming Jin, Jordan Suleiman, Khairil M Bahar. , Nam Ron, actor Namewee, Linus Chung, ruumz chief executive James Chong and Kelab Seni Filem president Wong Tuck Cheong. Whether or not the majority of Korean audiences knew who these bunch were as their names were announced, they all sounded just as excited to see them.“I wasn’t really sure whether they were screaming for us or for the people who went in front of us,” said Bahir Yeusuff, the producer for Meter. “But as I looked around I realised, ‘No, they are really screaming for us.’ It’s unbelievable! Do they even know who we are?”Director Khairil was on an adrenaline rush and had decided early on that he was going to own the red carpet.

‘They (the audience at Pusan) asked very smart questions,’ says Pete Teo.

“I could hear the yelling as we arrived on the red carpet and as we walked, I slowly raised my hand and the screams started getting louder. So I raised my other hand and the screams became even louder. I just ploughed through on the red carpet. I wasn’t going to take it slow. I was pimpin’ it big time!” he related later after the show, still reeling from the rush to the head.The Malaysian group were simply over the moon after the opening ceremony which included fireworks, live performances and the screening of the festival’s opening film from South Korea, Good Morning President. At some point they felt like pinching themselves just in case this was all a dream.

The next day the filmmakers attended the screening of 15Malaysia at the Megabox Theatre, in the Sfunz building, with a large Korean audience in attendance and received a huge applause after it was over. The filmmakers then lined up in front of the cinema hall and stood standing for a Q&A session with members of the audience who praised their work and asked questions about their film styles, influences, circumcision (with reference to Ho Yuhang’s Potong Saga) and even the economic divide among the different races in Malaysia.At the end of it, some of them rushed over to the filmmakers and personally congratulated them and even asked for their autographs. Teo, who had answered most of the questions during the session, was pleasantly surprised with what was being asked.

“They asked very smart questions. It was obvious that they were paying attention to the films and they wanted to know more about Malaysia and certain things in the films they didn’t understand. It was a very good session,” he concluded.I agreed with Teo and told him that a Korean man in his early 20s who was sitting next to me during the session had turned to me, realising full well that I am Malaysian, shook my hand and said this about the filmmakers: “I am proud of your countrymen! Your countrymen are very brave!”Teo’s eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped slightly and asked: “Are you serious? Really? Well, there you go. Guys! Did you hear this?”

Later that night was the 15Malaysia party which was held at the Seacloud Hotel on the 25th floor which opened out into an outdoor terrace. Though it was chilly being out in the open, it had a beautiful view of Busan city and that’s where the filmmakers met, talked and exchanged contacts with the guests who consisted of programmers from different film festivals such as Cannes and Rotterdam, industry people and trade publications like Variety among others.This was a good opportunity to build up contacts and the directors made full use of it. It was also Tan Chui Mui’s birthday, the director of One Future, another alumni of PIFF who was in Pusan as a member of the PIFF 2009 jury. So there was cake and a song, and Teo gave a speech toasting to the success of 15Malaysia but also dedicated it to the late Yasmin Ahmad.

It was an elegaic moment as everyone at the party had been handed a white balloon (white being Yasmin’s favourite colour) and they were released simultaneously into the night sky.It was an unforgettable experience for all of us and there was one last piece of good news on our last night on Oct 11 in Busan as some of us met up with Teo and he broke it to us.An article by acclaimed French film critique and historian Jean Michel Frodon had compared 15Malaysia to the French New Wave and said that it was the highlight of PIFF 2009.

“He’s widely read in France and Europe,” Teo told all of us. “So more people are going to read about you guys,” he said with a smile. He also cautioned the filmmakers to not let it get into their heads and keep working hard and build more contacts because “there are so many more opportunities as a filmmaker to get your films seen. Look at the amount of film festivals out there. They are always looking for something new, something different.”So how did this group end up in Pusan? Remember, this was a bunch of independent filmmakers largely unknown in Malaysia. 15Malaysia changed all that. This project raised their profiles at home and brought them to the PIFF – a gathering place for film industry people from around the world.

Everyone involved in this project had a part to play – from Teo, the filmmakers to P1 and Pusan. One would also have to credit the turbulent nature of our country’s political and social situation during the last couple of years otherwise these filmmakers wouldn’t have had much to say in the first place.Teo put it down to hardwork and luck and he’s right. But if you genuinely care for something – like the future of our nation – then the sincerity of your intentions will speak volumes and it will be seen and heard for a long time to come.

Produced by Pete Teo, 15Malaysia is a short film project featuring the works of 15 Malaysian filmmakers, and released intermittently between Aug 17 and Sept 17. These films not only deal with socio-political issues in Malaysia, they also feature some of the best-known faces in the country, including actors, musicians and top political leaders. P1 launched 15MY in August as part of its branding effort and to support local content creation. The films in 15Malaysia are: Potong Saga by Ho Yuhang; Chocolate by Yasmin Ahmad; The Tree by Amir Muhammad; House by Linus Chung; Halal by Liew Seng Tat; The Son by Desmond Ng; Lumpur by Kamal Sabran; One Future by Tan Chui Mui; Slovak Sling by Woo Ming Jin; Gerhana by James Lee; Meter by Benji and Bahir; Duit Kecil by Johan John; Healthy Paranoia by Khairil Bahar; Lollipop by Nam Ron and Rojak! by the Suleiman Brothers.

Profil Berkaitan

 Yasmin Ahmad    Namron    Chelsia Ng    Amir Muhammad    Liew Seng Tat    Tan Chui Mui    James Lee    Johan John    Bahir Yeusuff    Pete Teo    Linus Chung    Khairil M. Bahar    Ming Jin