THERE were difficulties to face when Malaysian director Woo Ming Jin was piecing together a feature film at the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic, but there was also inspiration to be found at the same time.
Woo's latest feature, Stone Turtle, was made using a skeleton crew and working in pretty much isolation on the beaches of the country's eastern coast. But what the director found was that fate actually helped him achieve the sense of isolation that he hoped he could create on screen, and then share with his audience in Stone Turtle's award-winning tale of time travel and of revenge.
"We had to use one primary location, and just a few actors and a small crew," explains Woo, adding: "Because we shot the film during the Covid-19 era, we basically had limited everything. But that became what I wanted to do. I wanted to design a sort of contained film, like the era I suppose, and I think that's what you can feel with this film."
In the end, it was all about simply doing everything he could to get the film made. There have been a host of Malaysian filmmakers who have adopted the same attitude over the past few years. The fruits of their labours will be on display at this year's 27th edition of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which is on until Oct 14 and is the largest and most influential event of its kind in Asia.
BIFF has also had to adapt during the global pandemic — turning to a hybrid live / online format in 2020 and 2021 — but 2022 sees the event return to about as close to a sense of normalcy as you can get, with international guests of the calibre of Hollywood hit-maker Jon Landau (Avatar) and Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung scheduled to grace the seaside city. Audiences are set to be treated to 243 films, including 89 world premieres and 13 international premieres.
MALAYSIAN CINEMA SHINES
The festival has always been a supporter of Malaysian film and alongside Woo's Stone Turtle, this year's edition sees the world premiere of Sam Quah's new thriller A Place Called Silence, which is in the running for BIFF's main New Currents award, as well as the world premiere of the Tan Chui Mui-produced The Wind Will Say, a family drama directed by Renai Wei Yongyao.
Malaysian director Ho Yuhang directs a segment in the romance-tinged Malaysia/Indonesia/Korea omnibus Look At Me Touch Me Kiss Me, which also features segments from Djenar Maesa Ayu and Kim Tai-sik.
Despite "prolonged difficulties during the pandemic", Malaysian cinema has continued to shine, according to BIFF programmers Park Sun Young and Park Sungho, who also described Malaysia as "one of the most outstanding countries to maintain the minimum lifeline for the film industry" as the country and the region struggled through the various lockdowns and restrictions that came with Covid-19.
"There should be something outstanding to be selected at a film festival:. Either something trendy or something well done," share the programmers, adding: "The [Malaysian] films selected are unique in different styles and worth global attention."
Stone Turtle had its world premiere at Switzerland's Locarno Film Festival in August and subsequently walked away with the FIPRESCI international critics' award. The revenge drama stars Indonesia's Asmara Abigail and Malaysia's Bront Palarae, and is set on an island that comes steeped in ancient folklore and inhabited by ghosts.
"Growing up, I was basically very fond of the ocean and very fond of the east coast," explains Woo, adding: "I was quite inspired by the place and by the folklore of the region. So that's how Stone Turtle came about — that's the catalyst for the film. I've also been interested in very small, concentrated films that only feature a few locations, where the tension builds, where you have just a few key characters, and the focus is completely on them."
Shadowed by the tensions that exist in a broken family, The Wind Will Say stars Taiwan's Lee Kang-Sheng as a father who seeks revenge for his daughter after her luggage is stolen, and is drawn into the shady underworld of a big city.
Meanwhile, Look At Me Touch Me Kiss Me focuses on three separate tales of three couples — set in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Seoul — and "although the geographical backgrounds are all different, the contemporary circumstances of those living in the same era are oddly similar", the BIFF programme says.
And there's a huge buzz building about the new film from Quah, whose debut feature Sheep Without a Shepherd (2019) was a hit with audiences and critics alike with its tale of an ordinary man forced to protect his family from the evil of corruption.
The film went on to collect around RMB1 billion from the Chinese box office. This time around, Quah trains his cameras on a story that includes murder, a missing school girl, and a mother who's desperate to find her daughter and solve the crimes
Quah is currently filming his third feature in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, but sent a video message for BIFF audiences. "This story was inspired by an actual event," said Quah in the clip, adding: "Silence is the weak's last dignity and the avengers' biggest disdain. I hope to explore human nature and moral values through this film."
OF INDUSTRY AND NATION
It's a diverse selection of Malaysian content and the BIFF programmers say they were keen to reflect both that nature in the Malaysian film industry and the nation itself.
"[In Malaysia] the culture is naturally flowing and there can be something extraordinary when they're mixed," elaborate the programmers, before adding: "It would take time and effort to archive this, so the artists shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes and failure. Not long ago, there was an exciting momentum in the so-called Malaysian New Wave in the early 21st century. It didn't last long, unfortunately, but the potential is there."
Woo puts Stone Turtle together thanks in the most part, to a government Covid-19 relief grant and the filmmaker believes that being selected by festivals such as Locarno and BIFF draws attention to smaller, local films as they look to compete against blockbusters and look for avenues of distribution.
"I think people in finance and the local [government] bodies are now more aware of film festivals and the importance of film festivals and how they can raise the profile of a country's cinema," says Woo, who's also had films screened at other prestigious international festivals such as Cannes Film Festival (Tiger Factory) and Venice International Film Festival (Woman On Fire Looks For Water).
"That wasn't on their radar, say 15 or 20 years ago, but right now, they're more cognizant of the importance of these world-class festivals," muses Woo, before concluding: "Honestly, the primary market to a certain degree is Malaysia and Indonesia, and then the rest of the world. But international cinema is tough if you're not English language. It's not an easy game but festivals like BIFF are a great help. It's wonderful being there and it's wonderful being able to show our film to the world."