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In fact, some of these indie films have become so successful that one can even mistake the production to be that of a major studio. The quality, the acting and the production is incredible. Essentially, the local scene has grown by leaps and bounds to an industry that takes care of its own.
Often you will see the evidence of this in the film’s credits. You will notice some of the same crew working on a variety of indie films. This highlights the camaraderie between local indie filmmakers and the passionate drive in them to ensure the development of the movie scene.
This relationship was in full view during the “Monash Independent Film and Education Symposium”, which was held during the recent ‘Discover Monash Week’. It was moderated by Fikri Jermadi, Filmmaker in Residence of the School of Arts & Social Sciences.
The three panel speakers included Amir Muhammad – one of the most well-known figures in Malaysian cinema, Nadiah Hamzah – a Masters of Fine Arts in Filmmaking (Directing) graduate of New York University (NYU), and Woo Ming Jin – an award-winning director whose movies have been screened at film festivals all over the world.
“Anybody can make a film and make it independent, there’s no restriction on that. No hard and fast rule, the only one would probably be means of distribution. As for me, there weren’t any big challenges in the beginning. If it’s too difficult, I don’t do it,” Amir says with a laugh.
Added Amir, “Why go through the hassle, if it’s too difficult, it’s not interesting. My philosophy is I don’t get it right, I get it done. Whatever that’s troublesome and not easy and fun to solve then I’ll just say, ok we don’t have to do it.”
Woo, meanwhile, started around the same time as Amir. He believes that most Malaysian movies are independent in some way, including commercial movies.
“It may differ on a different scale but it could be independent in thought or spirit. Most filmmakers are independent in what they want to do,” said Ming Jin.
Nadiah, who initially thought indie films were boring, cited Yasmin Ahmad as someone who was instrumental in influencing her interest. Having short films, music videos and TV shows to her credit, this young filmmaker and lecturer at a public university, was also influenced by her classmates and lecturers at NYU.
“Seeing their (fellow classmates and lecturers) work influenced me. My passion now is to make something in the middle; a bit of art house and mainstream – a little bit more commercial appeal as I want to make money with my profession!
“But to be honest, while you can learn a lot from film school, you can actually learn off the net via tutorial videos or YouTube,” said Nadiah when commenting on the importance of a film-making education and her future passions.
Adding to that, Woo adds, “Being in film school or studying films, you surround yourself with like-minded people from teachers to students. So you can work together to achieve whatever goals. Personally, it helped me a lot as we learn from each other and can improve ourselves based on constructive feedback and so on. Being in this sort of community helps sharpen your skills. I encourage kids to go to film school. Make contacts and increase your confidence.
Amir agrees and advices, “It’s about being in a community of people who are interested in the same subject as you are. I never knew anyone in the industry but mixing with these people was liberating.”
“You should also live. You need as many life experiences as possible. How vain it is to sit down to write and not sit up to live! At the end, it’s about how much you want it and what you are willing to do about it!”
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