Doing it for Malaysia
> Rise: Ini Kalilah centres on the events surrounding the 14th general election as seen through the eyes of six fictional characters
THE MAY 9 general election was an electrifying affair. The unexpected happened. After 61 years of ruling Malaysia since the country’s independence in 1957, the Barisan Nasional coalition was defeated, and the Opposition under Pakatan Harapan took control for the first time in our country’s history.
Award-winning producer Fred Chong captured all this in his latest film, Rise: Ini Kalilah, a 100-minute film which opens in cinemas nationwide on Sept 13.
The film was shot with a budget of RM2.6 million and in three countries – Malaysia, Singapore, and United Kingdom.
It has a multiracial cast – led by Remy Ishak, Sangeeta Krishnasamy, Jack Tan, Shashi Taran, Mira Filzah, and Mark O’Dea – and comes with dialogues in Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English.
You may think that Rise is political propaganda possibly aimed at disparaging the former ruling coalition and its leaders, but Chong denies this.
“I will not call Rise a political film. I would rather call it a patriotic film,” says Chong, who is also group CEO of production house WebTVAsia.
“Rise talks about new beginnings and redemption. I am hoping that audiences feel hopeful about the New Malaysia after watching the film.”
He points out the film does not feature any politicians or any political parties prominently. In fact, it centres on six ordinary people, with the election as the backdrop.
“My film is about human stories,” says Chong, whose previous productions include Hantu Gangster and Nasi Lemak 2.0.
The film is co-directed by three local filmmakers – Saw Teong Hin, Nik Amir Mustapha and M.S. Prem Nath. Each director handles the stories of two of the individuals featured in the film.
“The film focuses on six individuals who came out of their comfort zones [for] what they believe in,” Saw says.
One of the stories Saw directs in Rise is that of a policeman, played by Remy, who gives a cop’s perspective of the election.
“The police were a critical part of the general election,” says Saw. “Without them, there could have been bloodshed.”
Saw finds that during elections, the police force is often maligned and seen in a negative light.
He hopes this film will let audiences see the important role the police play to ensure a peaceful transfer of power between the parties to maintain the stability of the country.
Saw’s second story centres on a foreign journalist (O’Dea) covering the election, which allows Malaysians to see the events through the eyes of a “mat salleh”.
Meanwhile, Nik Amir’s first segment focuses on a Malaysian student in London, played by Mira, who carries back the postal ballot papers of those unable to return to vote.
“The story of overseas Malaysians fighting against all odds to deliver ballots home really pumped me up,” says Nik Amir, who travelled with his team to London to shoot scenes there. “It really made the London shoot memorable.”
His second segment centres on a businessman (Shashi), who is torn between “following his heart and doing what he has been instructed to do”.
The segment was shot entirely in Tamil. Nik Amir had no problems with that as the dialogue was translated into English to allow him to understand what was taking place.
“I love watching foreign films, even though I do not understand the language,” he says. “Film is all about emotions and not about language.”
Fellow director Prem faced a similar situation with one of his segments, which was shot in Mandarin.
That segment focuses on a hawker in Singapore (Tan), who wants to return home to cast his vote. But his brother and friend kept trying to change his mind.
Despite not understanding Mandarin, Prem had no problem tackling the segment, and praised his cast who he says delivered convincing performances.
“Every vote counts and if you do not vote, then you have no right to complain,” says Prem.
Prem’s second story centres on a young woman (Sangeetha), who clashes with her father over political choices.
“Her father belongs to the old regime, while she belongs to the new regime,” he says.
“The audience will see the clash between the old and young over this election.”
Prem also believes that Rise is not a political film, stating that “this film is all about human emotions”.
He adds: “As a filmmaker, I do not believe in promoting any kind of ideology in my work. I am just interested in telling my audience a story, and let [them] make their own interpretation of the story I am telling.”