Malaysia Tatler – August 2019

malaysia tatler. august 2019 137

MyfirstthoughtwhenIwas

invitedonboardwas,“Ohgreat,

Igettowritethethememusicfor

ourPrimeMinisterandallother

politicalcharactersinvolved!”

Howrareofanopportunityisthat!

Therewasdefinitelysomepatriotic

sentimentevoked,asthiswasamusicalrouteto

contributingandgivingbacktomyhomeland.

SinceIambasedinLosAngeles,allmusicwriting

wasdoneremotelyoutofMalaysia.Tomostpeople,

changeisalwaysarefreshingthing,butitcan

neverhappenifyoujustwatchidly.Itismyhope

thatpeoplewillrealisethatchangeisacontinuous

thing—andthemostimportantchangecomesfrom

within.Yes,thegovernmenthaschanged,andso

mustweasacommunity,constantly.

• Rendra Zawawi,
  Music Composer

When they approached
me to be the fi lm
editor, my brain
screamed “Yes!”
immediately. As a
political junkie and an
editor who is perpetually on
the lookout for a compelling story to
tinker with, I felt this project called
out to me specifi cally. Aside from the
momentousness of working on the story
of Malaysia’s 2018 general elections, I
saw a chance to craft a movie in a way
that Malaysians have not experienced
before. My favourite part is when we
showed the fi nished product to an
audience. I was privileged to be in
Hong Kong when we screened M for
Malaysia in Asia Society. Nothing is
more gratifying than seeing an audience
respond—positively or negatively—to
a movie we have poured our heart and
soul to make. Seeing Malaysians abroad
respond to the fi lm was truly moving.

• Sebastian Ng,
  Film Editor

08.11.2018

Coming Together
In Sept 2018, Datin Dian and Ineza fl ew
to Hong Kong to work with Ruby to
hone out the two fi lm cuts. “Filming
Tun M during the election campaign was
easier compared to combing through
90 hours of fi lm footage!” says Datin
Dian. “We didn’t get much sleep for
three weeks,” agrees Ruby.

DID YOU

KNOW

Everyone who

worked on the fi lm

has ties to Malaysia.

Rendra Zawawi,

who scored the fi lm,

is from Malaysia

and he recruited

an all-Malaysian

orchestra to create

the soundtrack. Even

Ruby has a personal

connection—

her mother was

formerly from Malaya

before moving to

Hong Kong.

13.04.2019

The Sound of Patriotism

The two women entrusted the

creation of M for Malaysia’s

soundtrack to LA-based Malaysian

composer, Rendra Zawawi and

his team. “Everyone we worked

on this with saw it as a national

project. They wanted to be a part of

preserving history,” says Datin Dian.

15.05.2019

A Lauded Premiere

A year after the elections, M for

Malaysia made its premiere at

CAAMFest in San Francisco—the

largest showcase for new Asian

American and Asian fi lms in the US.

The fi lm has since been screened at the

DOC Edge in New Zealand and

Asia Society in Hong Kong.

“Filming Tun M

during the election

campaign was the

easy part, compared

to combing through 90

hours of footage!”

• Datin Dian Lee