2019-10-01 Singapore Tatler

Ineza Roussille

Directorandco-producer

F

orInezaRoussille,the

documentary,MforMalaysia,

wasverypersonal.Shewas

alwaysreluctanttostepinto

thepoliticalworldofhergrandfather.

“WhenMumaskedmetohelpherfilm

granddad’selectioncampaign,myfirst

instinctwastosayno,”reflectsthe

half-French,half-Malaysianfilm-maker.

Growingupasthegranddaughter

ofTunMcamewithitsown

baggage—baggagethatshewasn’t

keentounpackagain.Butsheknew

howimportanthergrandfatherwas

toMalaysia,asasymbolofhope

andprogress.“Ieventuallysaid

yes,butIwasadamantthestory

wouldbeportrayedashonestlyasI

couldthroughotherpeople’svoices,

especiallyconsideringhowdivided

Malaysiansfeelabouthim.”

Onthecampaigntrail,Roussille

realisedhowhungryMalaysianswere

forchange.“Granddadwasmobbed

everywherehewent.Ikepthearing

allthesestoriesfromthosewho

wereagainsthimbefore,nowtelling

us,‘Ibelieveinchange.Iamgoing

togivethismanasecondchance,’”

shesays.

Onfilm,Roussillegave us an

intimatelookatthetender side of

TunM’scharacter.There’s footage

ofhimstickingouthis tongue at the

camerabeforehitting the road for

acampaigndrive,hisadmission of

exhaustionduringthe campaign and

tracesofnervousness in his face while

waitingfortheelection results to be

announced.Whenhespeaks to the

camera,thereisagentleness that is

clearlyreservedforhis granddaughter.

“Ialwaystalkedathim from behind

thecamera.Soduring the editing, they

hadtodoalotofwork cutting my

voiceoutbecauseIwas talking too

much,”admitsRoussille.

Sherecallsfeelingwaves of emotion

asPakatanHarapan’shistoric win

wasannouncedinthe “war room.”

Inasceneinthedocumentary,

whenitisannounced that Umno’s

strongholdstate,Johor, has fallen

toPakatan,Roussillespeaks to the

camerainavlogstyletoexpress

herdisbelief.Thenherstepfather,

TaraSosrowardoyo,playfully reminds

hersheistheprimeminister’s

granddaughter.“Suddenly, all my

childhoodmemoriescame rushing

back,”shesayswitha laugh.

Butsheknewthings were going

tobedifferent,asshe witnessed her

grandfathersharingthestagewith

formerpoliticalfoesWanAzizah

WanIsmail,LimGuan Eng and

MohamadSabu.“You must understand

thattherehavebeenpainful disputes

betweengranddadand these people

inthepast,”shesays.“But they still

managedtoputaside their differences

andreconcile.Theirwillingness to

shedtheiregosandfight for the

country’sfutureresonated with the

Malaysianswhothenhanded them the

mandateforgovernance.”

Fortheinternational version of

thedocumentary,Roussille serves

asnarratortohelpnon-Malaysians

understandthecountry’s politics.

Itisarolethathasbeenwell

receivedduringscreeningsofthe

documentaryabroad.

“MforMalaysiaisabout Malaysia,

butitissomuchbigger than our

country,”saysRoussille. “There is

ahungerforapolitically positive

story,andnowIamglad I said yes

tobeingapartofit,despite my

initialreluctance.”

“M for Malaysia

is about Malaysia, but

it is so much bigger

than our country.

Across the world,

there is a hunger for

a politically

positive story”

Ineza wears jacket by

Sandro; trousers by

The Kooples; blouse by

Arared, at FashionValet;

jewellery, her own

194 singapore tatler. october 2019