THE action movie that pays tribute to our national maritime heroes, Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang, was a labour of love for everyone involved.
Currently heating up the local cinema box office, the movie starring Saharul Ridzwan, Julia Farhana Marin and Adlin Aman Ramlie was directed by the late Pitt Hanif.
According to executive producer and scriptwriter Rozita Mat Isa of Flying Deals Sdn Bhd, the creative team had to do plenty of research to create the story for the movie.
"The idea for this movie initially came about in 2017 and it all began with a suggestion from a friend of ours in the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
"From there on, the Flying Deals team and I put together the concept, original idea and early story structure which led to the eventual script," she says.
Rozita adds that she spearheaded the movie project and was assisted by the other scriptwriters together with Jason Chong and the movies producer, Muhammad Hady Yusry Makmor.
"After completing our research, we presented a proposal and had discussions with the senior personnel at the MMEA until we got the green light.
"Only after our proposal was approved did we move on to the next stage to complete the working script.
"By this time, we also got Arie Zaharie Productions on board as a co-producer," she says.
Rozita explains that the production saw many challenges to get the movie made.
Part of it included dealing with the unpredictable weather conditions and ensuring the safety of the cast and crew, who made Pulau Langkawi in Kedah their home for three months during rigorous filming there.
"The most challenging was filming the scenes with many explosions in Pulau Ayam which was close to the Andaman Sea.
"The cost of blowing up the village there alone came up to about RM400,000.
"At the same time, we had to make sure that everyone involved in close proximity was safe from harm," she says.
Rozita adds that the MMEA had provided suggestions on the action scenes that contained a fair amount of violence and the production took the advice to heart.
"We explained to them the importance of certain scenes in the movie during our brainstorming session.
"For example, we wanted a beheading scene to showcase the sacrifices that the MMEA's teams have to endure and the high-risk situations that their work puts them in.
"Our objective for making this movie is to also remind and expose Malaysians to the sacrifices and service that the MMEA personnel carry out in order to protect our country's waters.
"Not many know that the agency also has its own CSI (crime scene investigation) and espionage teams," she says.
Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang, which costs RM13 million make, is currently screening in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Filmed in Langkawi, Kuala Perlis and Kuantan over two months in 2020, the movie is distributed by Metrowealth International Group (MIG) and supported by Primeworks Studios and Media Prima Berhad.
It tells the story of Coast Guard Leftenan Hafiz (Saharul) who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after his teammate is killed in a rescue mission.
But when Hafiz's wife and family members are kidnapped and held hostage by pirates, he faces his inner demons by teaming up with Leftenan Melati (Julia) to lead a daring hostage rescue mission.
Coast Guard Malaysia: Ops Helang has also been nominated at the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) which will take place in Udine, Italy in April.