Actress Lim Mei Fen, who is pursuing a film marketing course in China, believes in reaching for the stars
BEFORE promising actress Lim Mei Fen starred in the critically acclaimed Prebet Sapu, she was best known for her roles as Princess Hang Li Po, the legendary Ming princess who married Sultan Mansur Shah of ancient Melaka.
Lim, 34, played two versions of the princess — a serious one in Erma Fatima's play Takhta Tiga Ratu in 2015 and a funny one in Aris Kadir's play, Zombie La La La, which was staged in Istana Budaya the following year.
Chinese-speaking audiences may know her for her big screen debut The Cage, which was released in 2014 and contained an unorthodox storyline where the main characters virtually live in a cage.
AGAINST THE ODDS
Lim graduated with a theatre degree from the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara) recently, and is delighted to have done so "against the odds".
"I chose a degree in performing arts because I want to be an educated artiste. Educated artistes are always bankable and they go far in their careers," she said in a recent interview.
"Truth be told, I went in there rather late, at the age of 28, and the challenge that I had to face was to get every assignment completed in Malay."
Lim admitted that her Malay had always been "choppy", but she still took up the challenge of pursuing a course that uses it as the medium of instruction.
"Other students who were fluent in Malay completed their assignments within an hour, but I was a real slow-coach and took five hours to do so.
"Translating every word into English or Chinese was quite a task, but as one who never gives up, I persevered and made it," she said.
MADE FRIENDS EASILY
Lim is glad that she made friends easily in the academy, mostly with Bumiputera students.
"They were very encouraging and helpful, giving me tips on improving my Malay and enlightening me on the history of Malaysian theatre as well," she said.
Lim asked her lecturers many questions in class, and they "took all the trouble" to explain what they taught several times.
"I really admire my lecturers. They were so cool and could bear with someone as slow as me!"
Despite the hardship that she faced in Aswara, Lim greatly enjoyed her three-year course.
"It opened my mind about the country's rich cultural heritage and equipped me with knowledge to move upwards in show business."
NOIR FEEL
Lim completed her degree three years ago, but the graduation ceremony took place only this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Prebet Sapu was my first film after completing my degree. It was also my first Malay film in which I played the heroine. I just love the noir feel of this film and the ambiguous nature of my character," she said.
"I guess I landed a role because I came out of Aswara. Many stars came from the academy, even my co-star, Amerul Affendi."
BALANCING WORK AND STUDY
Although she has a degree, Lim is pursuing another one in film marketing and distribution at the Beijing Film Academy in China.
"I've been in this for a year now, and I'll be completing it over the next two years. It's a long-distance course and I'm doing my best to balance work and studies."
Pursuing the course is part of her long-term plan to become a film producer.
"Acting may be my first love, but I always believe that one must aim as high as the sky to survive in the competitive world of show business."
Lim's close friend, Dr Soo Wincci, greatly encouraged her to become a "highly educated star".
"As one who has equipped herself with several qualifications and is now a lecturer, Soo always told me to be 'well-armed' to face the competitive world.
"To thrive in Malaysian show business, especially as a non-Malay actress, having one or more degrees is your ticket to upward mobility."
DOCTORATE IN BUSINESS
Singer-actress Soo, 36, is an associate professor at Universiti Teknologi Mara's College of Creative Arts.
She has a doctorate in business administration from Open University Malaysia (OUM) and a degree in music production from Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain.
Lim advises budding stars to "find time for further studies" as it will do them a lot of good.
"It is never too late to upgrade yourself, but doing so is always for the better. Fans love talented and educated stars."
STRONG AND GROWING
As for the participation of non-Malay artistes in Malay films and dramas, Lim is optimistic that more of them will follow her footsteps.
"Since 2000, from my observation, there has been an increasing presence of non-Malay artistes in Malay dramas, reality shows, talk shows and films.
"Many of them are pretty good and have fan bases that are strong and growing," she said.
Lim said having more non-Malay actors, actresses and singers in the industry made Keluarga Malaysia a reality in the arts.
"Show business and sports are easily the most muhibbah areas of Malaysian life. My advice to non-Malay entertainers is seize the opportunity to penetrate the Malay entertainment sector, for it is the main component of show business."
She added that since the Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese entertainment sectors were "closing their doors a little" to foreign artistes, it was the best time for them to give Malay entertainment a shot.
TV DEBUT IN GAME SHOW
Lim, the eldest of four siblings who hails from George Town, Penang, began her career as a model in 2001. Five years later, she marked her small screen debut in the 8TV reality show I Want To Be A Model.
She also participated in the ntv7 quiz show Deal or No Deal in 2007, and produced the country's first Hokkien drama Home Rhythms in 2009.
In 2018, she starred in the National Day play Tanah Airku directed by Naque Ariffin. The following year, she was nominated for Best Actress at the Kuala Lumpur Film Critics Association Awards for her role in James Lee's film Two Sisters.
"My aim is to be a versatile actress, appearing in English, Malay, Chinese and perhaps Tamil films and dramas," said Lim.
OSCAR BID
Prebet Sapu was selected by the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) to represent Malaysia at the 94th Academy Awards last March.
Also known by its English title Hail Driver!, it vied for nomination in the Best International Feature Film category.
Directed by Muzzamer Rahman and produced by Le Mediator Studio, Kristal Azmir Sdn Bhd and Konda Kondi Studio, it boasted a star-studded cast that included Amerul Affendi, Lim, Sharifah Amani, Nam Ron and Chew Kin Wah.
Prebet Sapu also represented Malaysia at the Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy, the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival in Indonesia, the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival in Canada, the Asian Film Festival Barcelona in Spain and the Innovative International Film Festival in India.
The film tells the story of a colour-blind young man trying to make a living as an e-hailing driver.