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Singapore has selected director M. Raihan Halim’s Malay-language comedy-drama La Luna as its submission for the 2025 Academy Awards in the best international feature film category.

The film, a co-production between Singapore and Malaysia, is a comedy about a woman who opens a lingerie shop in a conservative Malaysian village, tackling themes of tradition versus modernity with a light touch. The movie was shot in the remote Malaysian town of Kuala Kangsar, near Ipoh in the northwest of the country.

La Luna marks Raihan’s second feature film after Banting (2014), which was Singapore’s first Malay film since the 1970s. The feature has been warmly received at several regional film festivals. It premiered in the Asian Future section of the Tokyo International Film Festival and was featured at the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival. Earlier this year, it was selected as the closing film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and...

Singapore: “La Luna”

“La Luna”, directed by M Raihan Halim, has been picked to represent Singapore in the best international feature film category at the Oscars. The Singapore-Malaysia co-production is a Malay-language comedy about a woman who opens a lingerie shop in a conservative Malaysian village.

The film had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival last November in the Asian Future Section and participated at the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival. It was also the closing title at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and played in Shanghai earlier this year.

Produced by Singaporean firms Clover Films and Papahan Films, in association with Malaysia’s Act 2 Pictures and One Cool Film, the film stars Shaheizy Sam, Sharifah Amani, Wan Hanafi Su and Hisyam Hamid. It was released in Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cinemas in November last year.

“La Luna” is M Raihan Halim’s second feature directing effort,...

Shooting a romantic sex comedy in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore (that co-produced the movie along with Hong Kong's One Cool Film Production), where censorship borders on the Draconian, is not exactly an easy feat, even more so when the story makes a series of rather pointed comments against the ways religion functions and the blights of patriarchy. It is what M. Raihan Halim chose to do nevertheless, in a film that manages to retain its lightness and hilarity, even though its subject matters are rather serious.

La Luna is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam

The story takes place in Kampong Bras Basah, a small village were the undisputed leader is Tok Hassan, an elderly scholar whose intense strictness regarding Muslim laws has resulted in fashion magazines being manually censored, sermons being purged of humor and teenage art being deemed a matter of police concern. His authority, however,...

Marks the second feature of Singaporean filmmaker M Raihan Halim.

Singapore-based Clover Films has lined up the release of comedy-drama La Luna in Asia, which is set to world premiere in Tokyo International Film Festival’s Asian Future competition.

Directed by Singapore’s M Raihan Halim, the Malay-language feature will open on November 9 in Malaysia through Skop Productions on a wide release of at least 70 cinemas, which will be followed by Singapore on November 16 through Golden Village Pictures.

The Singapore-Malaysia co-production will also be rolled out towards the end of the year in Indonesia (Cgv), Taiwan (Sky Films) and Hong...

The move is part of plans to expand its footprint in the Asia Pacific region.

Hong Kong-based One Cool Film Production has opened a new operation in Malaysia, with The Locksmith as its first feature filmed in the country and La Luna as its first Singapore-Malaysia co-production.

The new venture was officially launched on April 20 by Sam Kan, director of One Cool Film Malaysia, and But Tang, Hong Kong-based executive director of One Cool Film Production. The move is in line with the company’s plans to expand its footprint in the Asia Pacific region.

Its first made-in-Malaysia feature is suspense action thriller The Locksmith,...

Adapting “The Importance of Being Earnest” in a Malaysian setting is not exactly the easiest thing to do, but Al Jafree Md Yusop’s effort also stumbled upon a number of issues, including financial ones and the pandemic, which in the end resulted in the film forgoing theatrical release, instead streaming on Mubi, in a practice that seems to gain more and more traction as time passes. Let us see what it is all about however.

“Mencari Rahmat” is streaming on Mubi Malaysia

The story revolves around two men, Razak and Azman. The first one is an adopted orphan who inherited the fortune of his adoptive parents along with the obligation to take care of his his 19-year-old adopted niece, Ratna. Razak has managed to become a successful businessman, but the pressure he felt both in his line of work and regarding Ratna, has led him to invent a problematic younger brother,...

Streamer has multi-year agreements with leading Malaysian studios, including Skop Productions and Primeworks Studios.

The Walt Disney Company is rolling out its Disney+ Hotstar streaming service in Malaysia on June 1, with a wide range of local and other Asian content to complement its Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic brands.

As part of the local content offering, the service has entered into a series of multi-year agreements with leading Malaysian studios, including Skop Productions, Revolution Media Films, Primeworks Studios, Wau Animation, Act 2 Pictures, Les’ Copaque Production and Red Films, among others.

The agreements mean that some Malaysian...

The Japan Foundation Asia Center and Tokyo International Film Festival have uploaded the first of their omnibus film series, “Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections.” This film is in and of itself a compilation of three shorts; industry veterans Brillante Ma Mendoza, Isao Yukisada, and Sotho Kulikar illustrate three tales interrelating Japan to the Philippines, Malaysia, and Cambodia. While their plotlines are disconnected, their political arguments are not. Loosely tied to the theme “Living Together in Asia,” the three films wrest tongue-in-cheek responses to the inherently uneasy power dynamics between wealthy Japan and poorer parts of Southeast Asia. The collection peels back long-standing issues of poverty, servitude, and cross-cultural romance, bringing forth the lingering traces of Japanese (neo)imperialism.

The first and last shorts sing their songs of heartbreak and betrayal the most. The first, Brillante Ma Mendoza’s “Shiniuma Dead Horse,” follows the bleary-eyed amputee Marcial (Lou Veloso), an undocumented...

Documentaries about films are probably among the most difficult cinematic exercises a director has to pull. Edmund Yeo, however, took it a step further, by shooting a documentary about the short film “Pigeon”, by Isao Yukisada in order to pay tribute to another director, the late Yasmin Ahmad, whose pictures shaped Yukisada’s perspective on Malaysia.

“Yasmin-san” screened at the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase

In that fashion, the documentary begins with interviews of the case and crew, where Yukisada admits that Ahmad’s spirit permeates the film, both in its aesthetics, but also in essence, since Sharifah Amani, Ahmad’s regular, is also cast in “Pigeon”. Through these interviews, we learn a lot about the film, but soon Ahmad takes over, particularly through Amani, who considers the director one of the most important individuals in her life, even calling her “my mother”.

As the documentary progresses,...

Omnibus project Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections forms part of Japan’s drive to build links with Southeast Asia.

Produced by Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) and the Japan Foundation, Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections is an omnibus film with segments directed by the Philippines’ Brillante Mendoza, Japan’s Isao Yukisada and Cambodia’s Sotho Kulikar.

The film, which premiered at Tiff last week, involves characters living in Asia who have some kind of connection to another country within the region. Mendoza’s segment, Shiniuma: Dead Horse, filmed in both Japan and the Philippines, stars veteran actor Lou Veloso as an illegal immigrant in Japan who is deported back to the Philippines and forced to make a new life.

Filmed in Penang, Malaysia, Yukisada’s film, Pigeon, revolves around the bond between a Malaysian careworker (Sharifah Amani) and an elderly Japanese man suffering from dementia (Masahiko Tsugawa). Kulikar’s segment, Beyond The Bridge...

Omnibus project Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections forms part of Japan’s drive to build links with Southeast Asia.

Produced by Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) and the Japan Foundation, Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections is an omnibus film with segments directed by the Philippines’ Brillante Mendoza, Japan’s Isao Yukisada and Cambodia’s Sotho Kulikar.

The film, which premiered at Tiff last week, involves characters living in Asia who have some kind of connection to another country within the region. Mendoza’s segment, Shiniuma: Dead Horse, filmed in both Japan and the Philippines, stars veteran actor Lou Veloso as an illegal immigrant in Japan who is deported back to the Philippines and forced to make a new life.

Filmed in Penang, Malaysia, Yukisada’s film, Pigeon, revolves around the bond between a Malaysian careworker (Sharifah Amani) and an elderly Japanese man suffering from dementia (Masahiko Tsugawa). Kulikar’s segment, Beyond The Bridge...

The Japan Foundation and the Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) announced the main cast for the omnibus film.

Launched in 2014 the Asian Three – Fold Mirror project aims to deepen interactions between neighboring countries within Asia, as well as enriching cultural understanding and providing chance for people to consider their identity and way of life as individuals in Asia.

Lou Veloso – Masahiko Tsugawa – Masatoshi Nagase Sharifah Amani – Masaya Kayo – Chumvan Sodhachivy

The three Asian directors selected, Brillante Mendoza (Philippines), Isao Yukisa (Japan) and Sotho Kulikar (Cambodia) have selected their main cast to appear in their chapters. The acclaimed Filipino actor Lou Veloso will be starting in Mendoza’s episode. Two famous Japanese actors, Masahiko Tsugawa & Masatoshi Nagase along with the Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani will be starring in Yukisada’s chapter. Finally Japanese actor Masayo Kato and Cambodian actress Chumvan Sodhachivy will be appearing in the episode by Kulikar. The protagonist...

Line-up includes Sharifah Amani from Yasmin Ahmad’s Gubra.

Tokyo International Film Festival and the Japan Foundation Asia Center have announced the main cast for their Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016 omnibus to include Masaya Kato from Takeshi Kitano’s Brother and Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani from Yasmin Ahmad’s Gubra.

As previously announced, Brillante Mendoza from the Philippines, Isao Yukisada from Japan and Sotho Kulikar from Cambodia will each a segment.

Filipino actor Lou Veloso is starring in Mendoza’s segment. Japanese stars Masahiko Tsugawa and Masatoshi Nagase are in Yukisada’s along with Amani. Kato and Cambodian actress Chumvan Sodhachivy will star in Kulikar’s.

Each segment features an Asian living in a different country in Asia. The films will shoot in Japan, the Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia.

The omnibus will complete post-production in Malaysia at Imagica South East Asia and world premiere at Tiff (Oct 25 – Nov 3).

Bjarne Wong’s horror thriller “The Hunter”, is the first movie to be released from Malaysia shot in 3D. The movie is focused on a tribe called Borneo, who go around and kill people and enjoy there brutal ways of life.

Plot

A film crew from China is tasked to shoot exotic flora and fauna of the world’s mysterious 3rd largest island, Borneo. Historical treasures and hundred year old human skulls still hang in the almost untouched equatorial virgin rainforests native homes, in this the notorious tribal land of the Head-hunters. Locals known for their supernatural prowess, bravery and fighting abilities to survive had been at uncountable wars, ending always with enemy skulls brought back home as trophies. The head-hunters live by the hundreds under one common roof. They wear exquisite tribal tattoos over their bodies, intricate woven cloth, produce practical tools, and arts dedicated nature. But most of all,...

Bjarne Wong's new Malaysian horror flick 'The Hunter' has a new teaser trailer. The teaser features lots of action, blood-curdling screams and the odd decapitation. The new murderous island tribe movie marks the first ever ever cinematic 3D release to come from Malaysia. Check out the new teaser and the long plot details below. Sadly the website address plastered on the teaser poster (also shown below) still has nothing to offer as it seems to be sitting in an endless state of 'under construction'. 'The Hunter' stars Lou Qi, the sexy model/actress Carmen Soo (below), Cindy Chen, Koe Yeet, Soo Wincci, Smyth Wong, Tavani and Sharifah Amani...