Crowdfunding to make 'Pendatang' movie about segregation by law

 

Ng Ken Kin, 42, has been in the local TV and film industry for almost two decades as a director, sound mixer, writer and editor.

Best known for his work on 3 Doors of Horrors (2013), Hajat (2015), 5 Jingga (2008), and 28 Hours Later (2005), Ng knew Pendatang was a film he wanted to make the moment he read its script.

The dystopian thriller, set in Malaysia, imagines a scenario where the different races are forcefully segregated by law.

The story will focus on an ethnic Chinese family who is moving into their new home. They find a scared Malay girl hiding in it. The family is faced with the dilemma of what to do with this pendatang (immigrant) in their house.

Should they get rid of her, or risk their lives to smuggle her back to safety?

Ng (above, left) is keen to direct this film, which is written by Lim Boon Siang (above, right). However, to get this movie made, he and its producers will be raising money via crowdfunding.

Members of the public can start chipping in from Aug 8 to Sept 30 via the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.

They hope to hit their target of RM300,000 to fulfil the requirements of the script. If they don’t reach this amount, the movie will be shelved.

Malaysian film company Kuman Pictures, whose managing director is local filmmaker Amir Muhammad (above, middle), first received the script for Pendatang in 2019.

The film is described as a story of finding common humanity with people who seem different from us.

Why crowdfunding?

Explaining why they are taking the crowdfunding route to finance the movie, Ng said, “We (producers, writer, director) made a collective agreement to crowdfund the film to make sure we can make the version that is loyal to the script, so we didn’t approach any traditional investors, funders or studios.“

Explaining why they need RM300,000, Ng said, “As this is a not-for-profit project, the amount collected would be used entirely on the production; to pay everyone involved for industry rates and production design (sets, wardrobe, props, locations, etc).

“If we achieve more than that, then we will up the production value for more elaborate action sequences.“

Casting has not started yet. Ng said they are looking to hold open auditions to give everyone a chance to be involved and hopefully discover new talents along the way.

“Also, they don’t need to have millions of followers to be considered. As for the crew, I am talking to different people but no one is confirmed yet at this point,” he elaborated.

Pendatang will be Ng's first feature film. “It’s definitely a new challenge to use crowdfunding for this film since no one in Malaysia has successfully done it.”

Movie meant to be a free release

Pendatang’s co-producer, Amir Muhammad, said he loved the script and when they found the director who was ideal for it, he and the co-producers decided to get it made.

On why crowdfunding to make this movie, he explained, “Because it’s meant to be a free release and it’s a Malaysian story for Malaysians. So we wanted to bring it to Malaysians to support.

“I would say at its very core the story is about finding the humanity within yourself and recognising it in others, so it is always timely,” he said.

Amir said he has no idea if they will hit their target via crowdfunding. “I veer from optimism to pessimism within the same hour.”

There are six tiers of donations ranging from US$10 (RM44) to US$10,000 (RM44,000). Each level comes with different perks for the donor.

If all goes according to plan, the movie will be released on August 31, 2023.

However, Amir is not budging from the original plan. “If the target isn't achieved, this will be the end of the movie. This is because we have to concentrate on other movie projects done in a more conventional way.”

The inspiration behind the story

Speaking to Malaysiakini on the inspiration behind his script for Pendatang, writer Lim said Malaysians have spent a long time in their various race “bubbles”.

“I feel that Malaysia is already in a state where many people, regardless of race and political belief, think they are the victims in their own country, and yet for years, many of us have been pretending everything is fine by enclosing ourselves in our own bubbles.

“So these barriers and invisible walls between the races are what inspired the story.”

Pendatang was a script he had been working on for years.

“To help nurture screenwriters in Malaysia, Low Ngai Yuen (president of Kakiseni) started to put me on the payroll in 2013, so that I could develop any stories I want for myself, full-time.

“Pendatang is one of the concepts that I have been developing over the last nine years. I can’t remember the exact date of its inception, but it was one of the earliest concepts I had and I didn’t develop it further into script form as I knew it might be seen as a sensitive project by local production companies.

“I saw a glimmer of hope when the country experienced its first regime change in 2018, and so when Kuman Pictures held its first horror-thriller screenplay competition in 2019, I wrote the script for it.

“The script was then chosen as one of the Hot List Screenplays, along with two other screenplays that I entered into the competition,” explained Lim.

He previously worked on James Lee’s Petaling Street Warriors and Low’s Orang Itu, a Cantonese-Malay film that has influenced the writing of Pendatang with its humanity theme.

“Orang Itu is currently available on Netflix. Another talented director, We Jun, reworked my other script entitled Die Die Top Student (also selected as a Hot List Screenplay by Kuman Pictures), and the film is currently pending release on Tonton.“

Elaborating on why he thinks Pendatang is an important film to be made, Lim said, “I think as many of us live in our racial bubbles, we often fail to see a certain issue from others’ perspectives.

“A film is a great tool to break that barrier as it allows us to experience something in someone else’s shoes.

“Although I’ve tried to write the story so that anyone will find watching the film a thrilling experience, I hope it can also encourage people, regardless of race and political belief, to reflect on themselves and spark meaningful discussions afterwards.

“I don’t expect Pendatang to have an overnight impact, but if its success through crowdfunding could encourage more creative works which might otherwise be held back by censorship (or self-censorship), I believe real changes could be achieved in one film at a time.” - Mkini