KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh filmmaker Kyle A Halim is the youngest individual to participate in the National Film Development Corporation's (Finas) incubator programme which also saw him receiving a Digital Content Grant Fund (DKD) of RM700,000 to produce his first feature film, The Disappearance Of Irdina Adhwa.
The 28-year-old Sabahan who founded the production company Kotaki Studios Sdn Bhd decided to jump into filmmaking after quitting the video graphics business.
"I love the film world and I've produced six short films already. Before this, I ran a video graphics business for about three years.
"After deciding to make a change I asked my brother-in-law's father Datuk Deddy M Borhan, who is owner of Sabah Film Productions, for advice on how to make films.
"First thing he advised me was to get a Finas licence. After I got one, he then suggested that I apply for a pitching session with Finas under the DKD," he said in a news report yesterday.
Kyle added that he managed to obtain a slot during a pitching event at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) where former Finas CEO Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri was part of the evaluation panel.
"Ahmad Idham was concerned that I did not have any experience on producing a drama or telemovie.
"I was also young but I already had a Finas licence. So he enquired if I would be willing to participate in classes that Finas organised," he said.
Kyle added that he was invited to join the incubation programme seven months later and placed under the tutelage of Raja Mukhriz Raja Ahmad Kamaruddin who served as supervising producer.
Talking about The Disappearance Of Irdina Adhwa, the Sandakan-born lad who is a graduate from the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University College (KLMUC), revealed that the horror thriller was inspired by Hollywood's Friday The 13th and Tomb Raider.
Kyle also wrote the script in addition to producing and directing the film, which took a year to complete starting from the pre-production stage.
The film was supposed to have been filmed in Sabah in 2020 but the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing MCO forced him to change his plans.
"So I had to change the filming location to Peninsular Malaysia instead. Only 20 per cent of the shots were done in Kundasang, while the rest was in Melaka.
"Filming was completed in April last year," he said.
Although his initial plan was to screen the film in cinemas, the pandemic has forced him to seek out other avenues. The Disappearance Of Irdina Adhwa is now set to air on Astro First on Feb 24.
"I'm not disappointed that my first feature film will not be shown on the big screen. I'm still young and I'm sure there will be many other chances to do so in the future," he said.
The Disappearance Of Irdina Adhwa stars Alicia Amin, Syazuwan Hassan, Josiah Hogan, Bulan Terry, Nafiz Muaz, Melanie Tan, Nelissa Nizam, Hasmira Azmi and Abbas Mahmoud.
It follows Sofia and seven of her college mates who go on a vacation after their graduation. But things take a turn for the worst when one of them ends up dead at the venue where they are trapped and can't seem to escape.