Malaysia’s 14th General Election is truly a historical day – it is a day that Malaysians will always remember as they are the ones who made it happen.
So many inspiring stories have come to light about Malaysians from all over the world coming together to save their country, and this has encouraged award-winning producer Fred Chong of WebTVAsia to create a movie that every Malaysian can relate – it is called “Rise: Ini Kalilah”.
“I am inspired by all the stories, so I wanted to compile them and tell these stories about Malaysians from all walk of life, who try to make a change in their country,” said Fred Chong at the press conference of the upcoming patriotic movie.
Set to be released on Malaysia Day 2018, “Rise: Ini Kalilah” features 3 leading directors and a line-up of amazing Malaysian cast. But before you catch the movie in the cinema, here are 5 things to know.
1. The Story
“Rise: Ini Kalilah” also known as “Rise”, is a 100-minute feature film inspired by the story of Malaysians from all over the world coming together during the 14th General Election for the love of the country. The story tells 6 inter-related tales – a student living in London races against time to deliver crucial postal votes; a businessman is imprisoned by the politics of fear; a reporter eager to report the truth; a policeman trapped between doing what’s right and doing what’s best for his family; a forbidden inter-racial love story between an aimless hawker in Singapore and a polling agent (PACA) in Malaysia.
2. The Directors
The movie brings together a trio of visionary, critically-acclaimed directors – Saw Teong Hin, the head director who is known for the Malay language epic fantasy film “Puteri Gunung Ledang” and Malaysia’s 1st Hokkien film “You Mean the World to Me”; Nik Amir Mustapha, who directed the award-winning films “KIL” and “Terbaik Dari Langit”; and also Prem Nath who is part of the award-winning “Jagat” production team.
“This is by far the most challenging project I have ever been involved, but also the most satisfying to see an all-Malaysian team working hand-in-hand together,” said Saw Teong Hin.
3. The Cast
In true Malaysian spirit, the line-up of cast is a multiracial ensemble, comprising some of the most talented, rising talents and popular Malaysian artists. The stars are Mira Filzah, who plays a character that represent the younger Malaysian generation, Remy Ishak who plays a police officer torn between his duty as a Malaysian and his responsibility to his family, Sangeeta Krishnasamy who plays a teacher that goes against her traditional father, Jack Tan who plays a Malaysian working in Singapore, Jenn Chia who plays a local reporter, Mark Odea plays an expat in Malaysia, and Shashi Tharan who is in the antagonistic role that does the dirty work during the election.
4. The Shooting
The principal shooting of the movie takes place in 3 locations; Malaysia, Singapore and United Kingdom, and everything was done in only 3 months. The film is able to finish its shoot on time because each director handled different locations – Saw Teong Hin shot his part in Malaysia, Nik Amir Mustapha shot his scenes in London, and Prem Nath was in charge of the Singapore location. Thanks to the cooperation between all the directors as well as the production team, the shoot managed to wrap up in 20 days. According to Fred Chong, production of the movie costs more than RM2 million – and still counting.
5. The Soundtrack
The theme song of “Rise: Ini Kalilah” is a cover version of iconic patriotic tune “Sejahtera Malaysia” sung by Malaysia’s jazz queen Datuk Sheila Majid. The classic song has been sang by many artists including Dato Siti Nurhaliza, Dr. Soo Wincci and Daniel Lee, Bell Yu Tian, and Zurin Aniza. The song was originally performed by Mohammad Rauzan Alwi. Music scoring and arrangement were done by music directors Cheng Lee, Mac Chew and Audi Mok.
Check out the official trailer.
“Rise: Ini Kalilah” will be released in Malaysian cinemas on Malaysia Day, 16th September 2018.
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