Filmmakers Anonymous 4 : A review

( Sarah Chan was kind enough to write her piece on FA 4, thanks dear!)

(anonymous person with the signage of FA at The Loft)

The fourth installment of Filmmakers Anonymous happened last Friday, ensuring that deprived filmaholics in the Klang Valley got their monthly film fix. Instead of the usual FA haunt that is the Annexe, the screening was held at the glamer gila spot of The Loft, Zouk. So now we get films and alcohol! Yay! It had rained earlier and traffic was slow-moving in the city center but did that stop us? Nay! There was a good crowd present that night to watch the eight films that were lined up.

(the crowd in the loft)

Of the eight flicks, there was one music video and a documentary. The lovely Mien herself directed local singer-songwriter’s Mei Chern’s video for her song “Feels Like Falling” and it was a beautiful effort. The colours were gorgeous and we liked the snogging actors on film. But I could be bias because I honestly love Mei Chern’s music. Is there a video for “Do You See Me Like You?” Tricia Miller’s documentary entitled “The Road Not Taken” centered on the struggle that the people of Long Benalih had to go through in order to protect our ancient rainforests in Sarawak. It was an eye opener and confirmed one thing that most of us already knew: the powers that be are clueless to what makes Malaysia so beautiful. It’s not our high rise buildings, datuk.

(man with face covered: 'i thought this is suppose to be anonymous, siapa paparazzi ni!')

As you guys should know by now, the films that are shown during FA are not curated so we were presented with an array of films both wonderful and … weird. “Idiot Nation” by Tan Meng Yoe drew laughs from the audience due to its satirical take on politics. “Self Portrait” by Kok Kai Foong drew blanks. Personally, I wasn’t too sure what was going on but I have to say kudos to how the film was shot. I liked the locations and I liked the style. Another film which I was confused about but loved its style was “Raining Amber” by Azhar Rudin. I understand its part of a sexology, so maybe that’s why I couldn’t get into it. Perhaps I needed to watch the rest? (Or may I should’ve stayed for the Q&A session … sorry guys, it was freezing in there!)

(better filmmakers than public speakers, from right: Fikri, Aaron, Wan and half of Mien)

“Goldfish” by Fikri Jermadi asked a lot of philosophical questions which was good but I was reminded too strongly of that Nicolas Cage flick, “City of Angels”, what with the black clothing and the dead stalking the living. I enjoyed “Hijack” by Aaron Chung and thought “Almost” by Wan Azhar was relatable but a bit too clichéd.

(err, just a bunch of strange people who are addicted to making films)

So that’s my two cents on the screening. Bear in mind that I’m not a hardcore film critic with years of film-watching experience behind me, so don’t take my criticism to heart. The filmmakers did wonderfully and it’s so great to see so much creative talent in the Valley. So, til the next meeting then!

(err, just a bunch of people who finds joy in watching films...especially when it's free and no one around who has seen it 5 times to tell you how the film ends...)