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Tuesday, November 01, 2005

ENGINEER VS FILMMAKER - A civilised discourse on filmmaking.

I normally don't do this, but i guess i am in a mental state of mind where i am sick and tired of people generalising that all local filmmakers have no educational background and are a bunch of whinning artistes.

I personally think that it is unfair for people to generalise and judge based on their limited knowledge of a subject matter but rather to be more ojectively inquiring and not stereotyping when in discussion.

I do this entry in response to an ANONYMOUS blogger known only as WEBBER, basically this is in response to his response of my previous entry. (errr... or something like that)

His respond reads...

Anonymous said...
my experience as an engineer, kitorang kalau design something, and then present something to the judges at any competition, we always have something we dont agree with the rulings and the way our design is judged.

But year in and year out, there are many designs and engineering work that go around the rulebook but still manage to stay within the means of the rulings. And some even came out with an even better idea whenever they came with an obstacle provided by the judges.

You filmmakers can learn a thing or two from us engineers. We accept any "censorships" as challenges for us to be better and to be more "open minded," and not the other way around.

Im not disagreeing that more freedom means more creativity, but the reality of it is, you wont get total freedom, not in filmmaking not in life. So, getting the censorship board to ease up a bit, wouldnt make much of a difference.

And i think, you can actually use the censorship to your advantage. Macam the iranian films where there is no touching between men and women. I think hollywood or the rest of the world are more interested nak tengok macamana producer film can make a film with those restrictions.

Mungkin scene baling pemadam tu dilihat sebagai menjatuhkan maruah guru, but maybe there's a way that filmmakers can do something yang at least menggambarkan something of that perbuatan.

In the engineering world, at least 80% of the best engineered things came from restrictions. Contoh like formula one car where the car used a fan to suck the car to the road. It was banned, which afterwards led to extensive aerodynamic work. Dari situ, we all dapat all those wings and winglet that you see nowadays. Less material, less moving parts, less electronics, and less cost.

Even kat malaysia pun, we have some of the best mind in engineering, tapi the reality is ... most of them, banyak education, tapi tak banyak applications. Whereas the filmmakers kat malaysia pulak, banyak application, tapi tak banyak education.

I guess what im trying to say is, prove what you're capable of within that restriction, and we'll let the public decide whether the censorship should ease up a bit or not.

Or what we all engineer say, " let the right part fits and not the other way around."

p/s: i lived in kampong before, tapi tak pernah pun tengok anak beranak duduk kat tangga sikat rambut sambil berkemban. Actually, ive never seen my family or my sedara mara, berkemban dalam rumah all the time like in Sepet. So i think that women berkemban dalam dan luar rumah is kind of an exegeration. Actually, i think 30% of the movie dalam sepet tu, tak melambangkan reality orang melayu. And most of my kampung or bandar frens agreed.

Webber

Tue Nov 01, 01:33:56 AM 2005


This is my uneducated response...

Dear webber yang dihormati,

First of all, let me share with you that i completely agree that education, knowledge and wisdom is the key for anybody who wants to improve in life and other matters. I believe problems are our best teachers and discussion is the route to problemsolving.

In the context to what you have said above,

Thank you for bringing up our much admired Iranian friends in the film industry and i guess i know now, that this is why, me, being an ex-architect turned filmmaker, have never told engineers how do design engines, because i don't really comprehend the situation you guys are in, since i am not in your industry and that is why you are the engineers because it is your craft.

In Architecture and i believe the same can be applied to engineering (please correct me because i could be wrong), We design by using the construct of the laws of design and in pricipality, within the design brief that is given to us. Yes i agree that, from this, we can find who has found the best way to manipulate the rules that are given to us, to find out who can create the best design. As where the design process itself is up to the individual's ingenuity, every designer still works with the same set of rules. Now, in the context of the global filmmaking industry, i believe that this is not the case as Malaysians are playing by different, and are handicapped by their, set of rules.

As for the iranian censorship, i completely agree with you that their filmmakers have managed to make an impact (eventhough not huge compared to the hollywood machine) by making movies within their censorship guidelines. BUT this is the thing, their CENSORSHIP IS CONSISTENT! ours seems to be ad-hoc and new rules are created when certain parties feel that they are not shown in a good light in the cinemas. As in our learning of history, we will not be able to see the value of our independence from our invaders if we do not see the tyranny of the opressors.

The other thing is, If you have never seen your family and sedara mara berkemban on a tangga menyikat rambut, does it mean it doesn't happen?. My father, has at one time put my mother in the hospital because of an argument, just because it happens in my family, do i have the right to say that it happens in yours?

Raping your own child is not something that everyone does, is it? but does it actually happen in real life? does that happen among your family and friends? I'm sure they will say NO..

Just because something is not in the news due to its un-sensationalic nature does it mean it doesn't happen? Reporters won't report "hari ini keluarga PAK ABU telah di jumpai dalam keadaan menyikat rambut sesama sendiri diatas tangga dalam keadaan berkemban!" in their breaking news, because it's not news worthy, but doe that mean it doesn't happen?

Most of your frens in the kampung and in the bandar, accumulatively, do they make up at least 2 percent of the total malay population of malaysia?

i also like the F1 example that you gave, in that new controls and restrictions might push the boundries of design to make things better. In F1, when that happens, it is good for the sport because everyone plays by the same rules. It is not however applicable when somebody says "why are malay movies not as good as foreign movies?". Personally, i would not mind censorship if EVERYONE plays by the same rules, ie the local and international filmmakers, then we will see how great the western cinema is as opposed to ours. Do you think that our American counterparts can make a movie with the same budget we have, which is usually even smaller than their catering budget?

Just a few things to ponder.

If you don't see it, does that mean it is not there?
I think the quran will disagree with you on that bro, or i could be mistaken. Because i am merely an uneducated filmmaker and not an learned engineer.

Personally, i believe that we have reached saturation point in this industry in terms of the content that we can make and it has personified itself in the downward trend of the cinema going audience. Except for stories like KL MENJERIT 1, which has proven that the local viewing audience is still there and proven that peole want to hear more thoght provoking stories. I believe KLM1 has done well because the subject matter is one that is quite recalcitrant; ie. street racing. It is against the law but nonetheless the public wants too see it, because of curiousity and the taboo-ness of the subject matter. Instead of skewing it into something to be glorified, BADAR squewed street racng to something that is to be avoided.

People don't eat maggots and are jijik by it but do they flip the channel during FEAR FACTOR, some people might do it, but do you think a television network would buy the program it there was no demand for it?

Let us regain our market share and promote our cultural sensitivities by being able to play with, if not the same, more relaxed rules of censorship. Personally, i am not even really that concerned about the no V,H,S ruling because it's the other stuff like bribery, honour, integrity, and looking at ourselves objectively as a people in Malaysia is what i am really interested in. So i say it again... RELAX OUR CENSORSHIP LAWS AND BE CONSISTENT WITH IT.

Or what all we filmmakers say, " If the right part doesn't fit, let's see what other part is siutable for the actor."

EMPOWER THE PEOPLE

AFDLIN

52 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nak raya nih .. meh laa kita maaf bermaafan, tak baik hari baik bulan baik ni bertengkarah ... tak kesah laa siapa suka, siapa tak suka .... saya suka ...:P
to bapak engineer tu .. just stick to your engineering part ... and let the professional do their jobs ...:>

Anonymous said...

ooo lupa .. selamat hari raya afdlin and family ... from singapore with love ...:*

Amiruddin Karim said...

1. Agree, education and knowledge are important in any industry.
2. Agree, with certain restrictions, we'll be more crative in figuring a way on how we can pass a story / info without creating further problems with the authority.

Still, you can only bend a rule or work your way around it IF there's a compiled documented rule for us to be aware of.

The problem is.. there's no such thing.

And so for this, I agree with Afdlin. (OK, aku bias.. so what?)

A well educated and cultured society will definitely have the ability to do self-censorship..

Putera Emas said...

Rilex kodok2 semua.. camat DeepaRaya!

Anonymous said...

Bernas! I totally agree with ur opinion...

Anonymous said...

Selamat Hari Raya to all of u exp Chif kodoks a.k.a abang aflin ... emmm

emmm well entah ... 2 2 idea boleh di pakai ... afdlin betul and webber pun tak salah ... but i don't like the way webber menyampaikan pendapatnya ... i know u are from kampung ??? hey may late gradma pun berkemban dalam rumah even she duduk kat dalam bandar apa dulu ???

ayobkelubi said...

i think we missing the word "appriciation"

the art of appreciation.

tq

Rambler said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

have to say that from wat webber has wrote, it seems like this person has a one track mind. Though cant blame this person,as maybe its due to lack of exposure in life or thinking outside of the box. how strange that there are ppl out there who can summarise everything based on one/two examples that they have experienced/seen. I dont come from a Malay background but even I have seen my in laws (ladies of coz) cooked while berkemban. Having said that, does that mean these ladies are not educated/backwards in thinking? No of coz, its just the weather. Though there might be some truth in webber's comment it is however sitting on thin ice. Although having said all these, nobody owns the same brain/attitude/concepts in life. C'est la vie..

Anonymous said...

arghh! this issue! so many of my girlfriend's friends always assume that i'm a school drop out just because i work in the tv industry. in fact, some of my own friends sometimes look down on me. it makes me heart sick because it trivialises my hard work to get my masters degree in broadcast journalism. i even teach mass comm in a university and also pecah my kepala to think of new ideas and concepts for content. so afdlin... i feel you frustration.

Anonymous said...

Herm..Where should I begin..Now now webber, which type of censorship are u talking about? The "berkemban" type of censorship i.e sex type or as afdlin mention earlier the "baling duster to student" type of berkemban? i.e morality or what not. Branding yourself educated engineer and the filmaker uneducated? Should this passed the censorship? U think? I wouldnt want you to represent us as educated engineer man!Come on, we learn yes to earn our degree, but people like afdlin learn from scratch to earn his position!

U design something and in engineering prespective, its not suitable because of safety?economic consideration?reliability?. But these filmakers work with real world problem. And part of the film have to go because of the "it might disturbed audience mind" type of crap.

These are two different situations. Havent you heard about the genetic engginering, modified this genes and that genes and our government didnt accept it because it goes against our morality or religion? Do you feel the pinch? Think about it.

Anonymous said...

huhuuuuuuuu i love ur statement lady engineer ....

encikmasen said...

sebagai bakal engineer, ako setuju sesangatlah dgn statement lady engineer...

IMHO, all we need is consistency in censoring, got have a fixed guideline for all film content, regardless local or foreign content..and also hanya org x belajar saja kata orang lain x terpelajar..kalo filmmaker kita uneducated, how the heck they can make such a good story?

Anonymous said...

The assumption that education defines a person's character and standing in life is aaarrrghh!! so annoying. How many educated people out there are limited by their narrow points of view ? And how many high school dropouts have changed the world?

Drop the assumptions. We are all people, we need each other - we are all the same, deep deep down. If we could just get over our silly skin-deep prejudices...

Then one day people will acknowledge what is staring them in the face - that the entertainment industry is a mmotherlode of potential earnings and international investment. It is a viable national industry that people don't recognise because they still think it can't possibly be a professional one.

Two philosophers sitting on a bus driving through the countryside: "Hey, Jones, those sheep over haven't been sheared yet"

Jones looks at the sheep a few hundred feet away. "Sure, that's what it looks like from this side"

So - if you are in the habit of practising good consicence, you will have no trouble catching yourself when you are about to make ignorant assumptions.

Selamat Deepavali!

Selamat HAri Raya dan Maaf Zahir Batin,

Christina

Anonymous said...

SETUJU!! (apa yg aku setuju ni..hehehe!)

"If a tree falls in a forest but no one was around to witness the fall, does that means the tree never exist??"

Jasrina aka cucoqkodok

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...

the comparison between restrictions in engineering and censorship in films is completely inaccurate and silly.

they are of different natures. any fool can see that.

the restrictions in F1, etc are for safety reasons and have no political or social motivations, implications or repercussions.

film is a social, cultural and sometimes political mirror that reflects society and who we are. putting overwhelming restrictions on film is like cutting off your own legs. you can't move forward with the times.

we can relax censorship rules, but we shouldn't just stop there. we must eventually do away with them completely. have a REAL ratings system and enforce it.

when there is no censorship and only ratings, it doesn't mean filmmakers can and will do anything they want. if you make a film, you would still think twice about the possible rating your film will receive, because certain ratings will limit the number of people who can see your film. but the audience is at an advantage.

the British Film Board is a good example. they take into account the changing times and people's changing mindsets. every few years, they review their ratings system and their rules.

when you stop treating audiences like children, the film industry will also begin to mature.

Anonymous said...

HINDUSTAN : Ada scene yg menunjukkan POLIS yg jahat pastu ambik rasuah pastu buat jahat kat orang kampung, then orang kampung menunggu ketibaan HERO utk selamatkan keadaan...
Maybe mende ni jadi betul atau tidak...kita TAK TAHU...
LULUS utk tontonan umum..

MALAYSIA : Cikgu baling duster kat murid, dah kene potong...walaupun scene tu MAYBE wujud zaman skolah kita dulu2x...
TAK LULUS utk tontonan umum...

Tapi ada juga DRAMA TV (saya ulangi...DRAMA TV, bukan MOVIE..), yang tunjuk anggota Polis terlibat RASUAH/beri info kepada kongsi gelap etc. Kenapa TV lepas tp MOVIE tak lepas?


My 10cent.....

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with bro afdlin's statement, "RELAX OUR CENSORSHIP LAWS AND BE CONSISTENT WITH IT" because THIS is the ONLY thing yang boleh membuatkan M'sian film industry TIDAK suffer spt skrg.

Zaman P.ramlee takde censorship and most of the theme during that time involved alot of voodoo stuff e.g. jin, hantu etc. but still, when the censorship is RELAXED, the audience will enjoy the film because it was a film, only a film. tak berkenaan pada yg mati atau yang masih hidup.

i;m a kind of m'sian yg tak support local production, honest, except few movies yg i rasa patut support sebab kelainannya. and if i bandingkan sepet and PGL, both them are good but the only thing yg made sepet stands from the PGL is the ability and keberanian the production crew to bend, and to not stick to the absolute norm of CENSORSHIP in m'sia. and sepet is one kind of movie yg tak memerlukan big budget and still the director/screenwriter were able to bring the point across to the audiences.

Although, i'm open minded, not all M'sian are all open minded. and we stick to our culture and adab as asians. the need of CENSORSHIP is a must but it must be RELAXED and CONSISTENT.

talking about education (IQ), whilst there are so many educated people in malaysia, there are only berapa kerat je yang ade EQ. while IQ is important, EQ is much more important. Saying that film makers aren't educated is a complete B.S. To me filmakers are a kind of people yang berEQ, because they handle a kind of work that involves ppl's feeling and emotion so that their product i.e their story, will be accepted by their audience. Without EQ-oriented-directors/storytellers, takkan ade iklan2 raya/deepavali/cny yg menyentuh hati, straight to the point dan disukai ramai. betul tak?

just imagine iklan petronas didevelop oleh director/story teller yg only pentingkan IQ tapi tade EQ, confirm bosan, skema dan kaw2 yg sewaktu dgnnya.

perhaps we should say that all filmakers are berIQ and berEQ, the kind of khalifah we need in this world.

filmaking is an art. art are subjectives. there's no right or wrong way of doing it. just remember that.

Salam Eid to all.

freak
www.hafizismail.com

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...

Hafiz,

there was already censorship during Zaman P. Ramlee, but it was more relaxed.

and i personally believe that IQ and EQ should be balanced, one is not more important than the other. u need both.

Anonymous said...

aku dulu sekolah jangan kata duster selipar pun terbang.
ada patut kah?
untuk renungan bersama.

elisataufik said...

Masalah nya I think, sometimes the censorship board ni is trying to be a moral police, trying to tell the audience what to think and what not to think by controlling what we see or do not see.
Do you think if KLM1 was not a story yg tunjuk street racing is hina dan jahat dan buruk, it would have passed the censors?
Masalahnya, mentality most people on top is that we are unthinking vesels, uneducated, incapable of making our own judgements.
They probably think we are gaping fools sitting in front of our tvs in our kain batiks absorbing all that we see and believing everything. Nobody thinks maybe we could have an inteligent discourse and might actually be open minded.
Itulah masalah nya..

Kalau lah F1 officials pikir mcam malaysian censorship board, habislah.. They would probably have to strip off some of the advertisement in some countries sebab it might 'offend the people'. West McLaren cars might have to be repainted in Beijing coz Black is the color of death and doom.
I'm exagerating, of course.

Anonymous said...

you know ... maybe i should reread my post before i click on the submit button.

Truthfully, i have nothing against filmmakers. Although i am guilty of some kind of profiling or generalizing or as some of you would say "one track minded".

Just to clear something out before i start my post, my comment about being uneducated filmmaker wasnt meant for afdlin. I havent seen any of his work, so it wouldnt be fair for me to make any judgement.

My comment was a subsequent result from a discussion i had with a friend of mine, who had some filmmaking experience in hollywood (not in a big way, just some small work ... at least that's what ive been told). He was referring to a question of mine when i asked him about the CG flopped in one of the Senario the movie scene. He went on to say, malaysian filmmakers want to do all these fancy stuff with CG and all, but not having all the know how. This is what he said (more or less) ... "nak buat filem pakai CG, tapi takde ilmu camne nak buat ... lepas tu main release je movie tu".

So when i wrote that comment about malaysian filmmakers, i was definitely guilty of generalizing becoz i only based my statement on the comment made by my friend.

I myself, know nothing of filmmaking or the art of moviemaking.

Maybe my statement should've sounded a little like this ...

"engineers lebih berat ke teori, tapi kurang applikasi, and filmmakers banyak applikasi, tapi kurang teori." (meant for malaysians)

And my comment on engineers kat malaysia pulak, is just based on personal observation. Now, sapa yang agree or disagree tu ... it's besides the point, and not worth discussing here in afdlin's blog.

Now ... my comments. You're right, the censorship boards are not playing by the same rules, and im kinda glad they dont. Different rules and censorship applies to different race, group, nation and etc.

Same thing goes with motorsports. Different series and leagues dont play by the same rules either. F1 was just an example. Film industry and motorsport industry is somewhat of the like. Our general purpose is to provide entertainment.

And the best example i could come up with is NASCAR. The rulings on that stock car racing is just staggering when compared to F1. So much so, that if you take the paints of the car, you wouldnt be able to differentiate one from the other. But that didnt stop NASCAR to attract more fans than any other racing series in the world, and that includes F1. (you can verify this from a research paper on www.racecar-engineering.com).

The argument that F1 cars are far better than NASCAR cars becoz they have bigger budget and more freedom in the rulebook doesnt really matter. When it comes down to it, the winner is the one who brings in the most fans.

Malaysian movies can learn something from NASCAR. They have more "censorship" but less budget. But they still turn out to be on top.

These 2 series play by different rules, but that doesnt stop one from being better than the other (in terms of providing entertaiment).

Basically, my point is to prove that censorship doesnt stop the progress of a filmmaking.

Of course, my post and my previous comments, are based on general observations. No difference than your comment on ...

"Do you think that our American counterparts can make a movie with the same budget we have, which is usually even smaller than their catering budget?"

which i disagree with you on that. I do think Americans can make a better movie with the same budget that malaysians do. But i understand what you're trying to get at. You're speaking more in a general sense, which in this case, i would agree with you, they cant make good movies with the budget that malaysians filmmakers have.

So do i, im talking more of a general sense (except the sepet part). So any of my comments isnt directly acted towards you. You should give me the benefits of the doubt instead of being cynical or sarcastic as branding oneself as uneducated filmmaker and myself as learned engineer.

Afdlin, im treating this discussion as more of a healty dose of each others opinion. Bukan utk bertelagah or slandering atau menyakitkan hati sesiapa. I think i learned a thing or two after that carlsberg issue.

If you feel im attacking you in any way, please accept my apology. My previous comment was only a personal opinion of mine with some comments which is uncalled for.

i wouldnt comment on sepet becoz i feel that the statement about "uneducated filmmakers" is more important to clarify than other things you mentioned in your post.

p/s: trust me, i dont try to provoke you in my writing on purpose or try to be one of the subject in your blog (twice i might add). But i welcome whatever your opinion you have on mine, at least, it keeps me awake during my midnight shift :).

Webber

Anonymous said...

I think basically..everyone has different opinions..we may agree on each other at times..but also disagree with each other at times..

Anonymous said...

Now thats better webber..

And I'm not "engineer yang kat malaysia", i wrote coz i am proud to be malaysian and we have to support "OUR" entertainment industry.

Yes kita dah biasa dekat negara org nie we have the freedom of speech. But try to have some manners.Kita beri comment yang membina, bukan menyakitkan.

Glad that you learned something about the carlsberg issue.Seriously, from the previous post, it sounded like you tries to provoke him. Thats why everyone (moi included) naik berang.

Read twice before publishing your comment.

Anonymous said...

I must say webber has definitely managed to redeemed him/herself. Saying an apology takes guts and a lot of self respect. Well, webber u have certainly managed to get everybody's attention wit your first post. just take it in as if u hv managed to create a healthy discussion and no harm was ever meant. Ppl out there have a lot of pride/ego, kena 'sound' skit (even though it was NOT done intentionally) everybody becomes defensive. All in all, it just shows that everybody holds a tiny hyprocisy within themselves. C'est La Vie

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

hmm good..
tak perlu kekwat tak kena tempat...
ramai lagi educated people kt sini.. ok! humble is better than arrogant.. opps..I forget.. you are educated enough to know this!!

anyways.. you go chiefster!!

Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Allan Koay 郭少樺 said...

"All in all, it just shows that everybody holds a tiny hyprocisy within themselves."

i'm sorry, but that's totally inaccurate. there's a world of difference between being opinionated and being hypocritical.

"hypocrisy" means not practising what you preach.

i think everyone here was putting forward their opinions.it has nothing to do with hypocrisy.

Anonymous said...

americans make better movies with the same amount of budget simply because they need not have to worry about those censorship thing.

and as an engineer with plenty of experience in art, i have to say, both are completely different. engineering priciples works well within a restricted boundary, while art will collapse when you limit its creativity. of course there has to be a limit, but make it as minimal as possible laa.

Anonymous said...

ish.lady engineer,biar betul kerajaan tak kasik genetic engineering.tuh camne nak slamat kan crops from serangan viruses,pest and seangkatan.camne nak cure cancer?camne nak cure aids?camne nak tingkatkan economy malaysia?and why the heck kerajaan antar saya to the states to study biotech when 90% of the things I learned here are genetic engineering stuff.and...now you are saying..kerajaan refuse to accept genetic engineering?why am i here at the first place?

Anonymous said...

but i have to remind u budak biotech.. malaysian government rarely give malaysians any chance as they have more faith on foreigners.. say you introduce X.. u want to commercialize it.. they will say no.. but if a white man come to them and show them the same thing.. they'll be given a contract straight away.. MALAYSIA BOLEH maa!

Kampung Gal said...

kesian abang kodok kita... filem orang lain, dia yang kena...

Dear webber, let me just say this to you...Building a car and telling a story are two totally different things.

Can't believe that he would judge the whole censorship issue based on ONE scene. Typical engineers, analyzing ever little bits and pieces of the smallest thing.

Oops.. i pulak yang generalizing.. sorry ek.

For the record, I agree with Afdlin

Izham Miyake said...

Bang, 'siut'able or 'suit'able ni?

Anyway, i find it truly amazing that people are arguing over things like this. For me, no matter u're an engineer, or a film maker u are, there's only one thing in common.

It is all about making money and how to make a very good money.

We may have the passion to be an engineer but would u become an engineer if u don't make money? To do research thingy, u still need money.

I was an engineer, working almost around the clock to ensure some people can sleep safely at home not worrying what will happen to their money, which exponentially grows every single second. Me? Becoming tired and more each day, but my salary is still the same.

What's the use of having such a lot of knowledge but u still cannot make tons of money out of it.

Even if u know nothing, or maybe u know less than what other people may have, but if u still make money (for instance, nascar took more fans to the track, means more money) u're the winner.

I respect Afdlin for being such a very talented and knowledgable artist, he knows most of the technical things. And he knows how to make good money too. Additionally, he's still looking forward to improve himself, proven by his effort to go to Japan attending course/seminar.

But what I'm trying to suggest is for all the film makers to unite and fight for their rights towards the unfair censorships. I think malaysian movie makers are daring enough to do whatever it takes to produce good movies.

The things was, no one has ever made a move to speak up together towards the govt annoying policy. Film makers would normally to stand personally (masing-masing nak cari glamour) and have different views on the govt policy. I love the govt too but there are things that I think we can be disagree with, for instance the AP issue. Again, it's irrelevant and I'm sorry, it's just for instance.

Just for another good instance of how disunite of the film makers, especailly when Sepet win, there are voices of dissatisfaction in everywhere. Luckily, when Afdlin's movie wins, there's no such thing. A bless to Afdlin maybe!

Come on guys, i think, what we can do to help Bro Afdlin with this matter is to give him ideas, which he'll be so grateful too. We're all intelligent and civilised people, so why don't we give solutions, not giving more problem to Afdlin to delete the unwanted comments in here.

And that's how a fan can help his/her idol too.

http://izham-miyake.blogspot.com

-zaza:o:binxz- said...

dear webber d engineer

y am i not ashame, cus i was once an ENGINEERING student, and now a multimedia student, who is getting and EDUCATION on FILM making, publishing DESIGN. u make me feel like i wont tell ANYONE dat i was an engineering student. and maybe people like u are d reason why, i wont practice my engineering skills.

and by the way, which iranian film are you talking about? the one screened for FREE in TGV for 50th APFF, uhmm... lemme see.. maybe, Stone Blossom? wah... haven't u been watching films, eh?

Anonymous said...

eNGINEERING IS NOT fILM MAKING IS NOT eNGINEERING.
sEX IS NOT lOVE IS NOT sEX.
sTAR wARS IS NOT sTAR tREK IS NOT sTAR wARS.
kEMBAN IS kEMBAN.

Anonymous said...

izham, well said bro..and i think webber meant well..lets not bash him..no matter what we do, which industries we are in , we cann still learn from each other..and i hope bro afdlin aka chip kodok take webber's comments positively...and look at them from a wider perspesctive..

Rgds,
cekodok pisang

Izham Miyake said...

Hi cekodok pisang,

I've rechecked my post and I can't see anything that I would have 'BASHED' anyone in my post.

Unless some people had 'eaten the chillis', I am truly sorry, I didn't mean it at all. I didn't even want to sound sarcastic either.

I was just suggesting something :). And yeah, I was hoping that Bro Afdlin would take the comments positively, and I personally confident that he would. No worries.

-Izham-
http://izham-miyake.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

izham..i wasnt talkin about yalah..i was referring to all the negative responses on webber's comments..


cekodok pisang

Cipkodok said...

hello friends,

At this point i would just like to make it clear that i have nothing personal against WEBBER and have not taken offence to any of his comments. NO APOLOGY IS NECESSARY.This is because i enjoy an intellectual discourse so that eventually we will reach a healthy conclusion. I apologise to you if my tone sounded a bit stiff, my intention is only to encourage further discussion and hats off to you sir for getting involved further.

With regards to the Nascar example my friend, i do believe that F1 and Nascar is as similar to each other as sepak takraw is to a wet t-shirt contest. It is a different sport playing by different set of rules altogether.

I just want to reiterate the fact that, the issue is how to make our films gain back the bulk of the malaysian market share and to be competitive in the international film market as what has now been achieved by korea and thailand.

A better example would be between ferrari and for discussion sake, let's say minardi (Although personally i believe Mclaren ROCKS supreme!!). Both have the same sets of rules to play with (because we are in the same industry, ie the film industry) but one is wealthier than the other (US vs Malaysian budget). Your point rings true when you say better education would create better chances to succeed, as in Schumacher vs. Yoong. ( a more educated director could possibly make a better movie) BUT even so, once in a while, there is an opportunity for the RENAULT to shine, eventhough they are working with a smaller budget than ferrari, they find a way to beat goliath because THEY ALL STILL PLAY BY THE SAME RULES (even with a small budget great content can still shine . as in the case of the THAI film industry). But if Minardi for instance, already a weak team, is further weakened by given an additional set of rules only for them, for example , the driver must race in reverse!...heehee. I believe this would further impair their already unenviable position (Malaysia with inconsistent and harsh censorship).

As in engineering, in architecture, we are asked to follow the proven principles of the past and build on that, in order to develop more advaced technologies (unless it is in a groundbreaking field of engineering with no prior references or case studies whatsoever) My discussions are based on actual data from case studies presented to us in the Asian Content industry seminar from the 14 asian nations and these data all suggests that in order for any film or film industry to get recognition internationally and to gain back the local market share, these countries must have relaxed their censorship laws. If one is not thinking to be a player in the international scene , i guess our censorship law is alright. no problem to cari makan. If that is all you want in life... to be ordinary and safe.

Here i bring back the example of SEPET which has recently won The Tokyo International Film Festival's best Asian Film Award. The sepet version we saw in the malaysian cinema was severely and ridiculously censored but the version that is avaiable to the world is unadulterated. This shows that WE MALAYSIANS have content that intrigues the world but it has to be honest and It is not so much the budget, but the integrity of the content that is important. The less censorship, the more interesting the content is for the international market.

I am so happy and excited for SEPET because i believe their win cements the behavioural pattern of the international market based on the data presented to us in the Asian Content Industry seminar. I also Want to congratulate YASMIN once again for her conviction to the integrity of her story and sincerely believe she will help lead us into a new era of filmmaking in Malaysia by example.

I like what visitor said about the rating system. That is a true mark of a develop nation, that different age groups, with differing levels of experience and intellecetual development are allowed to watch content which is suitable for their age.

By having a censorship system, the government is losing billion of dollars in potential income to the pirates. Because the more you suppress the more interest it generates. Almost all my friends have watched Schindler's list eventhough it was banned in Malaysia. You can get the DAREDEVIL dvd here eventhough the film itself was banned here in Malaysia.

By having a censorship system we are saying that the people of Malaysia are not smart enough to judge for themselves what is good or bad, so, we will tell them what is good for them based on our personal value system and bias. Wow, how judgemental we are of our own countrymen. Or maybe that is our CULTURE?

I am not asking an also not in agreement to no censorship. Keep what is really sensitive to our hearts like religion or what have you... but give us freedom to dabble in the rest. I tell you, then... people will start to notice the country that is near indonesia and in-between thailand and singapore! what's the name of that country again...??

EMPOWER THE PEOPLE

AFDLIN SHAUKI

Anonymous said...

ish... weii nak buat film buat je laa... hasil tak de kokok je lebih... buat je dulu ikut suka ati korang la... dah siap kalo... baru boleh jerit... kalau tare sangat buat ranjau sepanjang jalan... tapi kena bagi feel macam mana feel baca novelnya... my point is... buat je dulu... marah2 kemudian...

MA said...

A wise old man once told me :

BEING EDUCATED DOESN'T MEAN (THAT)YOU ARE CULTURED.

Think about it.

Anonymous said...

hey al kodok ciken ayam...

at last..i found someone who actually shares the same sentiment with moi..thought i was the only weirdo..

though..though..i have not watched sepet yet..but my experience with Rabun telah membuat kan segala urat saraf aku seakan-akan kena short circuit..& i swear by my kodok's grave that i wud not watch any thing that has to do with adik beradik waima anak bapak mak tiri Rabun ..be it sepet ker ..juling ker...rabun ayam ker..

sorry..sepet lovers & YA fans..

and oh yes ..i'm a fan of YA too, not YA the film director but YA the genius who produced excellent ads for Petronas..

cekodok pisang

Anonymous said...

satu benda je pasal Iran & Malaysia.

Bukankah di Iran, mereka lakukan dasar tutup pintu, seperti di China? Maka 2 perkara senang dilakukan:
1. Menahan budaya 'asing' masuk
2. Melakukan tapisan kendiri.

Aku masih boleh ingat lagi, bila China tiba-tiba melakukan 'dasar buka pintu' pada filem-filem luar, semua filem Hollywood (Mulan) yang baru masuk 'bomb' di sana.

Jadi bila mamat khalid nak buat filem zombie kampung pisang, aku tak terfikir itu bodoh (sebenarnya 'efek zombie' sangat kena sebab mmg kita takde lagi revolusi cgi dan animasi yang baik, termasuk yg kita lihat dalam Silat lagenda, Puteh, Syukur 21 dan juga Buli, tapi sekurang-kurangnya utk Buli & Silat Lagenda, ceritanya melebihi efek, jadi nggak apa...oh ya, PGL adalah contoh terbaik satu revoluis pengunaan cgi), malah ia satu 'tribute' pada pengaruh 'asing' filem zombie (dikatakan ia dark comedy, mungkin seangkatan Cemetry Man, Night of the Living Dead & Dead Alive) dan kedua, ini memang spesel efek yang kita boleh lakukan kalau dibuat betul2..dan filem begini org Iran tak boleh buat!!

satu lagi, ini utk afdlin..afdlin, awat GB tak promote filem Buli lu ke luar? dah bertahun dah...aku dapat response dari peminat filem di Indonesia, mereka sibuk bertanya pada aku, bukan pasal Sepet, tapi Puteri Gunung Ledang (mungkin antara faktornya kerana pelakon hebat indoensia ada dlmnya) ..mati2 menunggu ada distributor hantar filem tu ke sana utk tontonan. Aku faham kenapa filem tu tak dihantar, tapi filem macam Buli dan Sepet, hah, bila lagi? Lagi satu, betul ke Indonesia masih buat 'dasar tutup pintu'nya terhadap filem Malaysia selepas reformasi? Kerana aku tahu buku sastera kita masih begitu.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the berkemban issue.. i too have never seen a family of malays on a stair 'cari kutu' my whole life!! And YES i get your point afdlin that it does happen somewhere in malaysia, BUT HOW OFTEN?? once in a blue moon.. BUT by potraying it in a mainstream movie, it's as if we malays are doing it week in week out and what happens next? i have chinese friends coming up saying 'eh malay families like that ah'? (after only watching the sepet trailer!!) WTF! bravo! bravo indeed to you film makers for planting the wrong ideas in your viewers head.. award winning stuff indeed..

film makers can mould the viewers mind, make no mistake about it.. so please dont abuse it in the name of creativty..

MagpiesFan..

Anonymous said...

i, personnalyy kinda agreed with Webber..sori Kodok

Anonymous said...

magpiesFan

i have chinese friends coming up saying 'eh malay families like that ah'? (after only watching the sepet trailer!!)

so u telling us that u embrassed on this "BERKEMBAN" things..nothing to shy dear...you should be saying doesnt it looks cute! why sepet received so many awards..coz it is a simple movie..why must every movie have to be HEAVY MOVIE..why not a LIGHT MOVIE?

Anonymous said...

Hi guys ...

Interesting discussion ...

We all must learn to live with restriction. best example i can think off is religion. there are dos and donts. we cannot simple adjust the do and the don'ts to suite our living style. we are the one should adjust our style to suite our religion.

some say kalau macam tu kita ketinggalan la ... this is crap!!!
yang ikut "current trend" lagi hancur ... lepas tu menyesal ...

issue berkemban tu, i think the objective of that scene is suppose to be joke ... bukan nak potray how a malay family lifestyle ...and i think it is really funny ...

Anonymous said...

jemiey03

1)i do agree with webber about accepting censorship to uphill our creativity(same applied to art,not only engineering)

2)i do agree afdlin a.k.a chip kodok with consistency in censorship in our film industry (be a pro laaa FINAS)

3)i do agree with "Hi guys..." because religion should shape up our life.

Anonymous said...

"I guess what im trying to say is, prove what you're capable of within that restriction, and we'll let the public decide whether the censorship should ease up a bit or not"

Kawan,

how are we, the public, to decide for ourselves what has already been decided for us? Restricted creativity makes the movie industry pointless.

And i'd just like to say, Afdlin i think you're awesome. I haven't seen all your work, but i distinctly remember one episode of Ah-Ha i watched when i was last back in KL where you said "Ini episode tanpa sebarang iklan!!!! ....iklan orang lain ada lah tapi iklan kitorang tak de"

hehehe kick ass~

xxJ

Anonymous said...

to amymaria..

"so u telling us that u embrassed on this "BERKEMBAN" things..nothing to shy dear.."

i dont have to be a religious zealot to say this, my main concern about it is because berkemban doesnt cover the body correctly, the muslim way..

Anonymous said...

to anonymous

"...because berkemban doesnt cover the body correctly, the muslim way.."

means u expect every muslims to cover themselves properly in the house..why hv to stress ourselves with so many clothes on our body when at home? dont u think they can relax a bit ...!give ur skin a breath k~