KUALA LUMPUR: M For Malaysia, the coming documentary film on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has a world famous artiste singing its heartfelt theme song.
And she is none other than United States-based singer-songwriter Yuna.
The song titled Bermula Kita (We Begin) is a duet between Yuna and another US-based singer-songwriter, Rendra Zawawi.
Its powerful lyrics, among others read “Bermula kita semimpi sejiwa, mengejar impian, bermula kita di penghujung senja menunggu fajar yang baru di langit kita yang satu” (We begin with a common dream and common soul, chasing that dream, we reach the end of dusk and await a new dawn in our common sky).
They reflect Dr Mahathir’s journey to help forge a New Malaysia by leading Pakatan Harapan (PH) to victory in the 2019 general election.
The official video of Bermula Kita was recently released on YouTube.
M For Malaysia had its world premiere at the Centre for Asian American Media Festival 2019 (CAAMFest37) in San Francisco, the US last May. It was also screened at DocEdge New Zealand in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand in June. DocEdge is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for documentaries.
M For Malaysia follows Dr Mahathir on the election campaign trail for 16 days leading up to Malaysia’s 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 as the leader of the PH coalition.
In the historic election, Malaysians voted out the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition which had ruled since 1973, and voted in PH with Dr Mahathir as its candidate for Prime Minister.
At the age of 93, Dr Mahathir, became the world’s oldest Prime Minister and the country’s seventh a day after the election.
He returned to power 15 years after he stepped down as the country’s fourth Prime Minister. His first term of office was from 1981 to 2003.
The documentary also includes scenes of rallies around Malaysia, interviews with politicians and civil society leaders as well as exclusive footage of Dr Mahathir and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali on the campaign trail.
M For Malaysia is directed by Ineza Roussille, the Prime Minister’s grand daughter, and Dian Lee. This marks Ineza’s first feature-length film and Lee’s directorial debut. Ineza is a documentary filmmaker for non-governmental organisations.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Ruby Yang served as the film’s creative consultant and the original soundtrack was scored by Rendra.
Ineza’s mother Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and Lee are the film’s executive producers.
The film will premiere in Malaysian cinemas on Sept 12.
The song's video