Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Appeal denied. The ban is final.

Got this fax today (click to enlarge!):


I truly appreciate the Visit Malaysia 2007 logo at the top right.

I am disappointed, of course. But at least it will show in Singapore next month, and it has already been confirmed for 9 other festivals.

And, most importantly, I have started working on the next one.

A wise person once said, "Rezeki ada di mana-mana..."

Amen!

29 Comments:

Blogger Amir Muhammad said...

Yup, I will be there for the Singapore screening.

7:59 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hampanya! but amir, good luck for 20/9 ok. always excited 4 yr new projects.

11:12 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

InsyaAllah "Rezeki ada di mana-mana".I hope one day people in Bolahland get to see the movie without all this mumbo-jumbo.Kudos to you Mr. Amir Muhammad.Its people like you that inspire me to better myself,to improve and work even harder!

10:24 am  
Blogger azmibinanuar said...

Very true "Rezeki, ada di mana-mana" and I'm sure this ban would not be the last whenever our esteemed comrades see your name. Keep on making the movies, where ever they maybe screened, I for one will definitely try and see them.

1:34 pm  
Blogger *cosmic freak* said...

lah, tak dapat la tengok benda alah 'amaran kerajaan' tu kelip kelip dengan font besar at the beginning of the movie.

very disappointing. very much.

12:14 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

1:16 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

review from Hong Kong.

1:18 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi amer,

Tuhan Maha Mengetahui segalanya..
kita kena redha dengan apa yang terjadi... InsyaAllah ada la tu...

rock steady brader...

3:33 pm  
Blogger thiamhin said...

i hope the ministry will lift the ban
coz malaysia is a democratic and communist is no longer a threat to us..

2:22 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi,

if you ever have the chance to come to an indie festival in brisbane..gimme a heads up, will try and get the malaysian students here to support you.

keep your spirits high and may the next movie be better and bolder.

good luck and take care.

7:26 pm  
Blogger Amir Muhammad said...

Screening next week in Buenos Aires in the section called Lugares (Places). This is the Spanish synopsis:


En esta suerte de continuación de El último comunista (que pudo verse en el Bafici 2006), Amir Muhammad entrevista a los veteranos comunistas malayos que resistieron por las armas al colonialismo británico, y que al día de hoy siguen exiliados en el sur de Tailandia. Desde la aldea que habitan en la selva –que aparece fotografiada siempre en colores brillantes–, los viejos guerrilleros recuperan recuerdos y reconstruyen la historia de su abandono “por el hombre blanco” durante la Segunda Guerra, su lucha por la independencia del colonialismo británico tras la posguerra, así como la proscripción del Partido Comunista malayo y la persecución de la que fue objeto por su vinculación con China. Pero lejos de ilustrar con fotografías u otros “materiales de archivo”, se elige mostrar la vida actual de quienes prestan su voz, interrumpiendo la narración con los fragmentos de una representación radial del Cuento de invierno de Shakespeare, en lo que constituye la apuesta formal más bizarra y entretenida del film. A pesar de su exitoso paso por el Festival de Berlín, la junta censora del gobierno malayo decidió prohibir este año su estreno en su propio país.

10:57 am  
Blogger (nothingness) said...

the decision not to lift the ban is not surprising.

yang sedihnya orang malaysia juga yang tak dapat nak tengok filem ni. nonetheless you have many supporters.

11:36 pm  
Blogger Tunku Halim said...

Is it available from Amazon? Looking forward to the next one!

10:35 am  
Blogger The Angry Medic said...

Your appeal letter to the authorities gave me a chuckle though. You didn't seriously expect them to luluskan it with sentences like this, kan?

Kalau tak cukup satu tanda seru boleh guna lima atau sepuluh.

That made me laugh

2:17 am  
Blogger Crystal Colloid Cum said...

Haih. Apa boleh buat. Tak ada apa yang boleh buat di bolehland. This sucks.

10:17 pm  
Blogger Greenbottle said...

a pity...i was looking forward to this one especially when you kept on mentioning ..."ah this one looks like national geographic yah?" in that slide show at silverfish a while back...

i hope you do get some success in the international circuits ...

and the new one you're thinking about ...do you remember september 20 ...don't think it'll get the blessing of our enlighten BN govt either...

at this rate you might as well make a porn movie mr amir...

12:27 am  
Blogger EFS said...

memanglah rezeki ada di mana-mana, insya Allah; but it is frustrating to even think of the mentality of the decision makers who refuse to get out of the coccon of a safety net. Same people who think watching mat rempit doing stunts on the silver screen is actually allright but slight touch to the ideology is a big NO-NO. Which one is more likely to be emulated by movie-goers?

10:59 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Singapore is a very open country, thats why they are allowing the screening of your movie, they only ban extremist shit like said zahari's documentary

while I understand your frustration, janganlah dok puji sangat kawan kita di selatan tuuu

12:45 pm  
Blogger Jane Sunshine said...

I hope this is not awkward. I've given you a Thinking Blogger award! It is something that carries no meaning, is just a random blog-meme. Nevertheless,I wanted to include your blog because I feel as many ppl as possible should read it. I just love the spunk and never can say die attitude that you've shown through all this political madness. You're a star.

8:34 am  
Blogger bibliobibuli said...

amen to what jane says, amir

am so sorry the film remains banned ...

8:57 pm  
Blogger Adrian Choo said...

how to have progress like this? don't give up bro.

9:54 pm  
Blogger mister said...

i have to admit that i was left a little bit lost at the end of the film.

i feel at some points i was attached to the the pakcik (the main story teller) and at some point i was attached to their lives in a different place.

but in the end i was left with an uncertainty as to what was the point you intended to send across in the film.

otherwise yes for a documentation of their story telling i think it was well done. capturing their thoughts.

heh... to bad takut la nak say hi.

dari singapura

:-)

2:06 pm  
Blogger Amir Muhammad said...

Hello Kairin,

You should have said Hi (especially if you were in uniform...)

Actually I did try to keep myself 'out' of the documentary, which is maybe why some people think they can't get the point I was trying to make. My 'point' is that I was giving access to others to talk; I was not interested in shoving my views down people's throats. If you thought I captured their thoughts well, then that is more than enough...

12:28 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

dunno lah sampai biler this boleh-land nak banned film yang agak 'rare' nehh...takkan nak kna pegi singa-pora baru leh tengok cite nehh..but dun worry....last time Dari Jemapoh ke Manchestee dpt ditayang after few years...

12:49 pm  
Blogger Sagaladoola said...

Hi Amir,

Remember to inform us when "Village People Road Show" is released onto DVD yeah ... !!!

Keep on ... with all the docu-dramas ... and the "Reformasi" film.

You have viewers and supporters here.

Regards,
http://sagaladoola.blogspot.com

3:39 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, man. What a region.
Why can't we be more like South Korea ? Or a DEMOCRACY ?!?

7:19 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

" Singapore is a very open country "
Riiiiight.

7:21 pm  
Anonymous London Oriental escorts said...

London Asian Escorts is an Asian and Oriental escort agency operating inLondon, United Kingdom. The agency provides escort service for males, females and couples. All models are carefully selected and genuine.

12:42 am  
Anonymous London escorts directory - London Crumpet said...

London Crumpet has a message board where London escorts and agencies can post their messages about their services or announce people about any update of their profile. Visitors can also rate the escorts on Hot or Not gallery and give some credentials to the escorts they like.

2:57 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home