High-octane street racing film

Pekin Ibrahim brings something new to the street racing film genre through KL Wangan, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli

Pekin (right) giving directions to Donny (centre) for a scene.

Pekin, who also starred in the film, was adamant in showing as much detail as possible for the racing scenes, resulting in the crew having to shoot from various angles. “It’s more satisfying to watch, don’t you think?”

Pekin learnt that to make the scenes seem brilliant, a director must have ample time to perfect them.

“took two months to complete because I wanted the film to be per-

fect. To make a great film, you not only need the right budget but also sufficient time and enough prep.”

Pekin made with local car enthusiasts in mind, so he was thrilled to have their support while the crew were filming.

“We announced our filming location on Instagram but we never expected to see hundreds of cars at the venue. The people’s passion was amazing.” Pekin took a longer time to film KL Wangan for it to be perfect. FIGHT SEQUENCES TOO!

On top of the adrenaline-pumping road action, included fighting scenes featuring Indonesian action stars Donny Alamsyah and Godfred Orindeod, who also co-starred in the Indonesian blockbuster

Pekin had met Donny at the Asean International Film Festival in Sarawak last May.

“Donny and Godfred have lots of experience working on top action films, so I took the chance to learn a thing or two on how to produce action sequences from them,” said Pekin.

“It’s surprisingly straightforward once you understand the techniques.”

Pekin was also floored by how efficient Donny and his team were in completing their tasks. “We only had three days to work on the scenes, but Donny insisted on working only eight hours per day. That was shocking for Malaysians because we’re so used to working twice as long.

“Still, they managed to get things done systematically, no less, having planned each course work carefully. I hoped to implement their technique next time I make a film.”

Having worked with Donny and Godfred, Pekin said he was now partial to producing action films thanks to their guidance.

“Plus, it’s time Malaysian productions collaborate with its Indonesian counterparts because there are so many things to learn from each other. At the same time, we can help each other break into our respective film market.”

bibiramli@nst.com.my