http://www.lhp.com.sg/muallaf
Yasmin Ahmad's Muallaf (The Convert) @ Cathay Cineplex Causeway
Point.
Opens March 5th 2009 at Cathay Cineplex Causeway Point.
(Cineplex is on the 7th level)
(Opposite Woodlands MRT station)
Two Malaysian sisters, Rohani and Rohana, run away from home to
escape their wealthy father’s mistreatment. They find refuge in a
small town where they get to know Brian Goh, a young Catholic
schoolteacher. Brian is irresistibly attracted to the two girls.
Impressed by their extraordinary courage in the face of adversity,
their relationship forces him to confront the ghosts of his own
childhood.
Director Yasmin Ahmad explores the possibilities of emotional
survival after being traumatised by loved ones. Through the
wanderings of three lost souls who band together and console one
another, Muallaf celebrates friendship, forgiveness, and the coming
to terms with the past.
Cast
Sharifah Amani Syed Zainal Rashid,
Sharifah Aleysha Syed Zainal Rashid,
and introducing Brian Yap (Brian)
杨雁雁 Yeo Yann Yann {Cindy), (Jack Neo's Love Matter 幸福万岁,
Colin Goh & Woo Yan Yan's 'Singapore Dreaming', Daniel Hui's
'The Bracelet', Anthony Chen's 'Ah Ma', Royston Tan's '881' and Boo
Junfeng's Berlinale bound short film "Tanjong Rhu")
Rahim Razali (Datuk)
Ning Baizura (Datin)
Tony Savarimutu (Brother Anthony)
Hazel Fernandez (Mrs. Siva)
Haris Zakaria (Yasmin's very own nephew plays the young
Brian)
Ho Yuhang (Private Investigator) (Director of the film 'Rain
Dogs')
Tan Mei Ling (Brian's mother) (Played Jason's mother in
Sepet)
Screenplay
Yasmin Ahmad
Director
Yasmin Ahmad
(Malaysia, 35mm, Dolby Digital, 1.85:1, 80 mins, English (90%),
Malay & Chinese with English Subtitles)
Copyright 2008, MHz Film Sdn Bhd
Jointly Released in Singapore by Cathay-Keris Films Pte Ltd
& Lighthouse Pictures.
Yasmin Ahmad Filmography
1. Rabun (My Failing Eyesight)
2. Sepet (Chinese Eyes)
3. Gubra (Anxiety)
4. Mukhsin
5. Muallaf (The Convert)
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MUALLAF Director's Notes:
A good friend once told me that as a child, he was caught
masturbating by his strict Catholic parents and was consequently
stripped naked by them and thrown out into the streets.
Soon after, my nephew told me that his Muslim girlfriend had her
head shaved bald by her own father, as punishment for dating a
non-Muslim boy.
These two accounts left me wondering how some people could
survive such emotionally traumatic experiences in their childhood,
inflicted upon them by the people who loved them. I also wondered
what would happen if the Catholic boy met the Muslim girl.
As I was writing the script about these two worlds colliding, I
myself realised that I had survived the dark patches in my own
childhood by the simple yet heavy act of forgiving the people who
had wronged me.
I knew at the very onset that this was a potentially heavy
story. I also knew even then that I was not interested in making a
heavy film. In order to determine the weight of the story, I
created an analogy for myself: this film would be like 'tom yum'
soup. Clear, but spicy and tangy.
And in this way, "Muallaf" was conceived. - Yasmin Ahmad