Japan-based Malaysian director Lim Kah Wai is a well-known name in Japan as he has spent most of his life making films in the country.
Having stayed in Osaka, Japan for more than 25 years, the director recently graced the launch of Malaysia’s Japan Film Festival 2018 (JFF 2018) where some of his best works will be screened at the event.
During the launch, the director revealed that he plans to make a film based on his personal experience during the recent 14th Malaysian General Election.
“I do plan on making some Malaysian movies, especially after the recent election. The one I currently have in mind is not going to be focusing on the election completely but it is related to it,” Lim told Hype Malaysia at GSC Pavilion.
According to Lim, this will be his first ever Malaysian production film, and the concept will be about his journey during the election period where he worked as a Poll and Counting Agent (PACA) volunteer in Pahang.
“During the election, I volunteered to be a PACA in a small village in Pahang. I met many other PACAs from KL and other states. On the journey to Pahang, we had a lot of interesting conversations and something interesting even happened in the village,” Lim explained.
Lim refused to reveal the content of the conversation but he believes that it will be an interesting concept. “You’ll know what it’s about when it comes out.”
So far, Lim said that he is still in early scriptwriting process and he will be looking for producers for the film. “It’s not going to be a huge budget film, just a simple story that takes place during the election period.”
As a Malaysian residing in Japan, Lim’s films often reflect himself as most of them are usually about a foreigner in a different country. “Most of my films focuses on strangers in unfamiliar lands. So there’s a lot of cross-cultural elements, culture shock and conflicts in terms of communication and language barrier.”
He recently wrapped up his latest movie titled “Somewhen, Somewhere”, which follows an Asian girl who travels to Balkan Peninsula in Serbia and her encounters with the people and culture there.
His films “New World” and “Fly Me to Minami”, which are part of JFF 2018 line-up, also follow similar themes.
After “Somewhen, Somewhere”, Lim will start working on his next project, which will be a follow-up to “New World” and “Fly Me to Minami”. The film will be the 3rd instalment and last film of the Lim’s trilogy. The shooting will take place this Winter (mid-December) in Osaka.
“New World” and “Fly Me to Minami” will be shown in GSC Nu Sentral on Saturday, 8th September at 2:40pm and 4:50pm respectively.
