Ineza Roussille
Director and co-producer
“M for Malaysia is about Malaysia but it is so much bigger than our country. Across the world, there is a hunger for a politically positive story”
For Ineza Roussille, the documentary was very personal. She was always reluctant to step into the political world of her grandfather. “When mum asked me to help her film granddad’s election campaign, my first instinct was to say no,” reflects the halffrench, half-malaysian filmmaker.
Growing up as the granddaughter of Tun M came with its own baggage— baggage that she wasn’t keen to unpack again. But she knew how important her grandfather was to Malaysia, as a symbol of hope and progress. “I eventually said yes, but I was adamant the story would be portrayed as honestly as I could through other people’s voices, especially considering how divided Malaysians feel about him.”
On the campaign trail, Roussille realised how hungry Malaysians were for change. “Granddad was mobbed everywhere he went. I kept hearing all these stories from those who were against him before, now telling us, ‘I believe in change. I am going to give this man a second chance,’” she says.
On film, Roussille gave us an intimate look at the tender side of Tun M’s character. There’s footage of him sticking out his tongue at the camera before hitting the road for a campaign drive, his admission of exhaustion during the campaign and traces of nervousness in his face while waiting for the election results to be announced. When he speaks to the camera, there is a gentleness that is clearly reserved for his granddaughter. “I always talked at him from behind the camera. So during the editing, they had to do a lot of work cutting my voice out because I was talking too much,” admits Roussille.
She recalls feeling waves of emotion as Pakatan Harapan’s historic win was announced in the “war room.” In a scene in the documentary, when it is announced that UMNO’S stronghold state, Johor, has fallen to Pakatan, Roussille speaks to the camera in a vlog style to express her disbelief. Then her stepfather, Tara Sosrowardoyo, playfully reminds her she is the Prime Minister’s granddaughter. “Suddenly, all my childhood memories came rushing back,” she says with a laugh.
But she knew things were going to be different, as she witnessed her grandfather sharing the stage with former political foes Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu. “You must understand that there have been painful disputes between granddad and these people in the past,” she says. “But they still managed to put aside their differences and reconcile. Their willingness to shed their egos and fight for the country’s future resonated with the Malaysians who then handed them the mandate for governance.”
For the international version of the documentary, Roussille serves as narrator to help non-malaysians understand the country’s politics. It is a role that has been well received during screenings of the documentary abroad.
“M for Malaysia is about Malaysia, but it is so much bigger than our country,” says Roussille. “There is a hunger for a politically positive story, and now I am glad I said yes to being a part of it, despite my initial reluctance.”