Malaysian film industry had come to almost a standstill due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, a new joint-venture that’s looking at producing 12 films within 24 months is definitely great news.
Local production house Zebra Studio and Tremendous Entertainment – a leading entertainment company in the Asia Pacific region – announced their multi-movie joint venture agreement on Aug 27 during a virtual presentation.
The hope behind the collaboration is not only to revive and support the local film industry, but also to bring new opportunities for Malaysian content to be presented globally. Hence, the companies are calling their projects as "glocal" films, combining the words global and local.
From the 12 features, five will be Malay dialect driven films (set to be shot at Terengganu, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor) and four will be local Chinese dialect movies (shooting location to be at Perak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur).
The remaining three are described as mixed language films that will be co-produced and shot in neighbouring countries including Korea, China, Indonesia and India.
Tremendous Entertainment chairman Datuk Jared Lim informed the Malaysian press that one of the 12 films had already been completed. They are hoping to start shooting the second feature come October in Terengganu, which is under Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan.
“That 24 months we have in mind, we’re confident we can make it within that timeframe. There will be certain times whereby there’ll be productions overlapping – movies being shot at the same time,” said Lim.
Zebra Studio founder/director and executive producer Saraleana Nattaya Azmi added: “The first film is a co-production between Hong Kong and Malaysia. It’s a love story featuring Hong Kong actors as well, and it’s going to be launched in early January, if not December (this year), if the new SOP allows for cinemas to reopen by then.
“The second movie, to be shot in Terengganu, is going to be a martial arts flick centring on silat ... it will be an action-packed film.”
Saraleana said she’s excited about the joint-venture as the Malaysian content will be brought to the rest of the world.
Lim explained: “Tremendous Entertainment has been distributing our own media content around the world for the last 10 years. And we also have a network of international distributors for the US market, all the way into Asia, especially in China.
“So, together with Zebra’s network, I think we have a wide enough reach to take the content internationally. Of course, it all depends on the quality of the content. That's why we're calling (this effort) as Glocal, which is a new word that I've learned. But it’s really about creating local content at an international level, and to roll it off globally.”
According to Saraleana, many platforms are searching for content right now. She pointed out that Hollywood productions have also realised Asia’s potential in creating fresh stories.
She stated: “That's why we decided to focus on the 12 films in Asia ... co-productions with different countries like China and Korea.
“What makes Malaysian films appealing (to international market) is really our culture. Language is not a big deal anymore.”
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