Dismissing homeless folk’s rights a wrongful act — Filmmaker
KUCHING: It is wrong to criminalise people and say they have no rights just because they are on the streets, stresses filmmaker Low Ngai Yuen who directed ‘Orang Itu’ – a movie about the homeless folk.
“We were on the ground talking to many women, different people who told us their stories. You will be amazed at why people are on the streets.
“We need to play our roles right.
“It is wrong to criminalise them and to say they don’t have rights because they are on the streets,” she said in a questionand-answer session conducted after the screening of the movie at the Asean International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) Movie Marathon on Friday night.
According to Low, in Malaysia there is the Destitute Persons Act 1977 that has not been repealed or changed.
“This particular Act still criminalises anyone who is sitting outside on the streets and the police, or any authority, can come and take them away; they would have no rights whatsoever to say that they don’t want to be taken away.
“This is a hundred over years old (law) that many countries around the world are not doing anything about, because none of us cares. Nobody does anything or fights for them (homeless people),” she said.
Low was inspired to make the movie after years of going to the ground, prototyping solutions for the street communities.
“We’ve found that there is no one solution for everyone. The reasons why they are homeless are many.
“Some can’t keep with the standard of living in the city; some cannot cope with things happening in their own lives; some not given enough opportunities especially when they have past (criminal) or rehab records,” she said.
Low also lamented that local movie fans would not get to see ‘Orang Itu’ at cinemas, mostly due to costs.
“Today the way we watch movies or consume films like this is very different.
“It is difficult to raise funds to put drama-driven film like this to the cinemas. You can see that there are less and less dramadriven movies coming from Hollywood too.
“It is more difficult for filmmakers who just want to tell stories.
“We are trying to see what other ways people can consume this film on.
“We are hoping to get it on to different on-demand platforms. We should be able to announce it in a couple of months’ time,” she said, adding that the likely platforms could be Astro or Netflix.
The heart-wrenching movie, which was produced in 2016, stars Sofia Jane as an ageing mother who returns to the city to reconcile with her past, where she meets a restaurant owner (played by KK Wong), his wife (Carmen Soo) and their son (Sawyer Leong).
It is an encounter that would change their lives.
Other cast members also include Redza Minhat, Namron and Tony Eusoff.
The AIFFA special screening also hosted the 11-year-old Sawyer, who at such a tender age, is already a well-known talent in acting, modelling and beatboxing.
The boy has also won several awards.