Into the woods
FOR his next venture, actor- director- producer Pekin Ibrahim is looking at producing a documentary feature. Come midApril, Pekin and the crew of his production house KL Media House are going to Sabah to film Madness Of Borneo under the direction of Raja Mukhriz.
What is remarkable about this project is that Pekin plans it for consumption on the big screen.
“Whenever a local documentary is made, it’s for the purpose of showcasing it on TV. That’s the usual aim of a documentary. But I want to present what our beautiful country has to offer on the big screen,” said Pekin.
“With this medium, the audio and the visual of what we are presenting will be amplified.”
This also explains why director Mukhriz is ideal for the job; before helming the 2014 film Ophilia, Mukhriz worked as a cinematographer on various local films since 2007.
“We went to Sabah for two months already ( to recce) and we’ve come up with a content that I feel is unique. There are more than 30 indigenous groups that we are not familiar with; we will be focusing on one of them.
“For a change, we are offering a documentary on Sabah that’s not just about orangutan and Mount Kinabalu,” elaborated the actor who was nominated in the Malaysia Film Festival for his performance in the 2012 film Bunohan.
Pekin added that Madness Of Borneo – which will be filmed over the period of 60 days – received funding from National Film Development Corporation Malaysia ( Finas).
“I sent in a proposal to Finas and, thankfully, received full support from them.”
Pekin hopes to show the documentary in cinema sometime next year. “I target to bring it overseas and enter it for competitions.”
He believes that once the documentary feature gets recognition in Malaysia, it will encourage more filmmakers to look into the genre.
The actor who can currently be seen in the box office success Munafik, said he is slotted to star in Syamsul Yusof’s next film titled Tailong. “But I am not sure when that one starts filming yet.”
Pekin also made his directorial debut with Mat Moto which was released in January this year and has earned a respectable RM4.3mil.