Civil Defence members in the fore: Crewmen filming Returning Home in Bukit Mertajam. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A shophouse caught fire and many were injured. While firefighters were battling the flames and a medical team treated burn victims, another team of experts in blue was busy helping to restore order.
During the period of the movement control order, team members from the Civil Defence Force were everywhere, rendering aid to the public.
All these dramatic scenes will be captured in the upcoming movie Returning Home, which is now being filmed in Penang.
Director Don Hoe said he was making a movie based on the lives and struggles of members of the force and other frontline agencies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I want to make this movie because I want to show people the importance of the Civil Defence Force during the MCO.
“Most of us know that the army, police, doctors and nurses were the frontliners when Covid-19 hit us.
“Civil Defence personnel were no less important,” he said at his shophouse-fire movie set in Jalan Perusahaan here.
The 44-year-old Penangite is himself an associate Civil Defence Force officer and feels he has a responsibility as a movie maker to show the heroic and selfless acts of his force members.
He said when Covid-19 first struck, he volunteered to be on duty and saw his comrades give their fullest commitment.
Hoe (right) running through a scene from the movie with Syed Fernarsh.
“Other security agencies roped us in. I was among those on duty on the first day of the MCO.
“At that time, everyone was scared and not sure of what Covid-19 was. We only knew the virus kills and it can be anywhere,” he said.
He said volunteers of other agencies, such as St John Ambulance of Malaysia, would also be depicted in Returning Home.
The movie will tell the tale of how their families coped as the volunteers struggled to help those in need.
Hoe hopes the movie will remind all Malaysians of how they can live together in harmony and unite to face a common enemy.
“It’s a Malaysian movie for all Malaysians,” he said.
Among the main actors is social media influencer Chazynash (Syed Fernarsh Syed Badlishah), 34.
Syed Fernarsh said his appreciation for the Civil Defence Force went up many notches after the filming began.
“I thought they were all about saving cats or catching snakes, but now I know they do much more than that,” he said, adding that to act out his role, he had to delve deeply into the real life challenges of the officers.
Veteran actor Rabbit Chen said in the film, he plays a good-hearted and helpful Korporal Ong.
“It is a good experience and I am sure the film will send a great message and inspire viewers,” he said.
Singer-cum-actor Ribbon Ooi, 26, said she plays a full-time hospital nurse who is a St John Ambulance volunteer.
“With two responsibilities, my character has to deal with her personal problems and make many sacrifices,” she said.
The filming of Returning Home is expected to take 25 days and the movie is slated to be screened next Chinese New Year.
