Amir Muhammad
2021
6horts #6: Pangyau
Amir Muhammad
Against the bustling backdrop of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, a Malay-Muslim narrator reminisces about a teenage relationship between himself and an ethnic Chinese classmate. Pangyau , the Cantonese word for friend, is not just the story of a close friendship, but a prism through which the writer gets to examine his feelings about the the ways in which race and religion have been used in the national socio-political discourse.
6horts #6: Pangyau
Return to Nostalgia
Woo Ming Jin
Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, Jasmine Suraya Chin
Local filmmaker Woo Ming Jin and his crew traversed across Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore to find 'Seruan Merdeka' (1947) - the first film made in Malaya post-WWII, and also the first film in the history of Malaysian cinema to feature a biracial cast of Malays and Chinese. While tracking the film's whereabouts, Woo met many locals along the way, whom he interviewed in an effort to find out more about the country's history.
Return to Nostalgia
The Big Durian
Amir Muhammad
Amir Muhammad, Salleh Ben Joned
On the night of 18 October 1987, a soldier ran amok with an M16 in the area of Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. Due to the thorny circumstances of the time and place, his amok triggered a citywide panic and rumours of racial riots. Why did he do it? Why were Malaysians so jittery at the time? And what happened next? "The Big Durian" speaks to 23 Malaysians (some real, some fictional) to find out.
The Big Durian
Apa khabar orang kampung
Amir Muhammad
C.D. Abdullah, Suriani Abdullah
A portrait of village life in South Thailand, home of retired Malay-Muslim members of the communist party of neighboring Malaysia. Recollections of the decades-long guerrilla war are interspersed with a Thai radio soap opera.
Village People Radio Show
Kisah Pelayaran ke Terengganu
Badrul Hisham Ismail, Amir Muhammad
The laid-back, scenic and conservative Terengganu was the only one out of the 13 states of Malaysia that director Amir Muhammad had never been to. So he decided to go there for the first time in December 2015 and do a kind-of-travelogue about it. He quotes from "Voyage to Kelantan" (1838), a book by Munshi Abdullah (often referred to as the father of Malay journalism) which had some very scathing observations about the state and the men who live in it. These quotes are interspersed with conversations with some Terengganu men of today. Co-directed by Badrul Hisham Ismail who is a Terengganu native.
Voyage to Terengganu
15MALAYSIA
Desmond Ng, Mussadique Suleiman
Sharifah Amani, Tian Chua
Fifteen short films with socio-economic subject matter by 15 directors of Malaysia's "New Wave" and "No Wave." 15Malaysia is a short film project. It consists of 15 short films made by 15 Malaysian filmmakers. 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. You may think of them as funky little films made by 15 Malaysian voices for the people of Malaysia.
15MALAYSIA
Tokyo Magic Hour
Amir Muhammad
An experimental romance between two men is narrated against digitally manipulated imagery of that city. The narration consists of passionate verses that form a heightened, chronological record of a love affair, arranged in distinct sections, which can be termed Meeting, Loving, Lusting, Parting and Remembering. One section, Magic. breaks away from the poetry-as-narration to present instead poison charms, exorcism chants and dream interpretations.
Tokyo Magic Hour
The Year of Living Vicariously
Amir Muhammad
This split-screen documentary by a Malaysian director chronicles the shooting of the Indonesian film Gie (2005) in the middle of 2004, which is also when the country is undergoing its first direct presidential elections. Opinions from the cast, crew and extras of the film are sought on politics, filmmaking and the national myths of the past and present.
The Year of Living Vicariously
Susuk
Naeim Ghalili, Amir Muhammad
Diana Rafar, Ida Nerina
Susuk is a 2008 Malaysian horror film which was released on August 7, 2008 in Malaysia. The film is directed by Amir Muhammad and Naeim Ghalili. The story concerns about Soraya, who uses the forbidden practice of susuk in order to be famous.
Susuk
