It was a make it or break it kind of day. Quite literally. The tension and exhilaration was thick in the air. Three weeks of hard work and late night toil had led up to this moment.
Last September, Muhd Azmie Mohd Noor, a professional wau- maker from Kampung Petani in Sering, Kelantan had experienced an embarrassing setback.
His attempt at flying his big wau at the Kelantan International Kite Festival failed when the string holding the wau broke and it was swept away by the wind and crash landed.
That couldn’t happen again. Not for Mie (as he is fondly called) and definitely not for Selangor-based filmmaker and documentarian Keshvan Sugumaran.
Keshvan and his 14-people crew had followed Mie for three weeks, exhaustively filming (six hours daily) the process of making a gigantic wau bulan, which is native to the state of Kelantan, interviewing Mie and other wau- makers, and getting to the roots and origins of the wau.
Keshvan, 35, has been working on a documentary film called High In The Sky for quite a while.
After spending several months researching the subject to nearly a month filming, Keshvan and his team were finally excited to see Mie’s successful wau flight.
Supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas), High In The Sky, made under Keshvan’s production company Tririse Films, runs for 49 minutes.
“The film explores the historical background of wau kites, and sheds light on how it became one of Malaysia’s most profound symbols of national identity.
“The film will also highlight the uniqueness of wau kites compared to other kites in the world. Wau-makers hone their skills for years to become master craftsmen, ” says Keshvan, who hails from Sungai Siput, Perak.
“Very few individuals are left in Kelantan who can make them by hand. We hope to showcase this traditional art form for the world to see, ” he adds.
The documentary tracks the journey of its protagonist Mie, 41, born and raised in Sering, as he makes and designs the wau from scratch with the help of his childhood friends.
Lifetime of learning
Mie, who works as a medical assistant at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kota Baru, grew up playing the wau and learned the art of making it from his father when he was a teenager.
“I kept making the wau, perfecting the process. I also learned a lot by observing and studying the works of many master craftsmen, ” says Mie, who has won several kite competitions locally such as the Kelantan International Kite Festival and even represented Malaysia at a Turkish international kite festival.
He also taught himself the fine art of wau design, called sobek. It was Mie’s artistic skills and finesse that drew Keshvan to him.
The more fine a wau design is, the more expensive it is. The one made for High In The Sky costs nearly RM6,000.
Sadly, says Keshvan, the art of sobek is one that is dying. Only a handful of people are still practising it, Mie included.
That is why Mie took it upon himself to teach the culture and art of wau-making in various workshops at Pusat Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Sering.
He even conducts wau classes in local schools, whenever he is asked. It is important for him to preserve this dying art form.
In fact, he is one of the teachers at the Pusat Kokurikulum Universiti Sains Malaysia for the “Seni Wau Tradisional” course.
“I have also been mandated by Persatuan Pelayang Negeri Kelantan to teach and coach new talents to bolster their level of achievement through national level competitions, ” says Mie.
Keshvan, meanwhile, cleverly weaves the High In The Sky film with interviews with researchers and professionals in the Malaysian wau scene.
These include Datuk A. Rahim Nin, president of the Johor-based Majlis Pelayang Malaysia, and Nik Ariff Datuk Nik Hassan, president of Persatuan Pelayang Negeri Kelantan.
A better understanding
From the get go, Keshvan was very clear with his vision. He did not want it to be another film on the process of making a wau.
It was crucial for Keshvan to dig deeper into the origins and mythology of the wau and not present a reductionist documentary, which he says is common on local television.
“My intention is to make a documentary that has value in it, ” says Keshvan.
He mentions that there is so much more to a wau than just a mere tourist attraction. For example, there are stories behind the unique sound it makes when it flies, and why its shape resembles the human body.
There’s also the philosophical and fantastical value to the wau: It connects heaven with Earth, and therefore is used to motivate children to dream of reaching greater heights.
Keshvan shares that many people were impressed that a non-Malay filmmaker, who was assisted by a non-Malay researcher (Dr Khor Kheng Kia), was interested in such a Malay cultural heritage.
“For instance, Datuk Rahim was curious as to why I wanted to do this. When I told him my reasons, he got up, shook my hand and said he’s proud that non-Malays are keen on doing this, ” recounts Keshvan.
That was the same reception he received from the wau-makers in Kelantan, including Mie.
“They were very friendly, helpful and proud to share their heritage and culture, ” says Keshvan.
Where it all began
Keshvan’s passion to preserve cultural heritage started in 2014.
While he was teaching filmmaking at a private college, his former colleague Dr Khor, who was researching the wayang kulit at that time for his masters degree at Universiti Malaya, talked about how badly Malaysian traditional arts was treated as far as video documentation was concerned.
“I felt like I should at least attempt to preserve our country’s heritage and traditional arts through research and video documentation, ” says Keshvan.
Years would pass before Keshvan put together a team for the project. In between, Keshvan, a University Malaysia Sarawak graduate in cinematography, worked on several TV series, advertisements and short films.
He would even emerge as winner in the Best Short Film category at the 2015 Sundance Channel Short Film Competition for his short film The Return.
With this project’s research completed by Dr Khor, as advised by Professor Dr Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof (an academic/writer and a pioneer researcher in Nusantara arts since the 1970s), Keshvan successfully pitched the idea to Finas in June 2019.
Launching a wau bulan
Understandably, a lot was at stake on the day of Mie’s wau bulan launch.
Keshvan recalls that both he and Mie had mixed feelings when the lorry carrying the 4.6m-wide wau, which weighed a whopping 30kg, finally arrived at the picturesque beachside of Pantai Cahaya Bulan near Kota Baru.
Due to its sheer enormity, it took 15 people to carry the wau from the lorry to the beach that Saturday afternoon in late January.
The pressure was mounting. All eyes were on them. The camera crew made sure they were ready to capture it all, though they hoped they wouldn’t be recording a crashing wau instead.
Finally, the moment came. The wind at Pantai Cahaya Bulan was just right. Instinctively, the 15 men arranged themselves – some held on to the wau and some, the rope.
As if on cue, they ran along the beach, hoping the wau would catch the wind and soar. And then it happened. The eastern wind lifted the wau slowly high into the sky and it kept rising and finally, it was up.
For Keshvan and Mie, this was a magical moment. The climax of an arduous but fulfilling journey. Months of preparation and labour finally paid off. Onlookers at the beach reached for their phones and started taking pictures.
High in the sky, together with Keshvan and Mie’s hopes and dreams, the wau soared majestically.
Keshvan urges Malaysians, especially the younger generation to catch the documentary once it is released.
At press time, there is no release date yet for High In The Sky.
“This way, we don’t have to merely say that the wau is a national symbol... (we can) claim it in a proud manner after learning the real uniqueness and aesthetic values it carries,” concludes Keshvan.
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