Talentime – Yasmin Ahmad latest movie in 2009
Yasmin Ahmad’s latest movie, Talentime, is already making its way to the international level with its recent selection by Hong Kong International Film Festival for the SIGNIS award. Talentime, which will premiere on March 26 nationwide, will be competing against movies from Taiwan, Iran, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Czech Republic, Indonesia and Italy. Yasmin Ahmad said the award is a salute to films that fully express social and humanitarian concerns, as well as spiritual and artistic values.
“I am thankful and grateful just to be nominated. I’m hoping that this would be a good start for Talentime.”
“I realised that getting into the international level is easy for us now since festivals have started to recognise local talent. We don’t have to fly abroad now, they will come to find us and that’s very overwhelming,” said Yasmin.
“I am not putting too much hope on winning as other nominees are really good and I must say it’s tough competition.”
“What’s more important is that the work and the messages in our work are be able to reach our audiences,” said Yasmin.
Talentime is Yasmin Ahmad fifth movie, after Rabun, Sepet, Gubra and Mukhsin which had won various awards and accolades locally and internationally. Like Yasmin’s previous works, Talentime evolves around the innocent love between a Malay girl (Melur) played by newcomer Pamela Chong, and a hearing impaired Indian boy (Mahesh) played by Mahesh Jugal Kishor. Introduced at a talentime competition, differences in their beliefs threaten their love which seems fated to be unspoken and unheard.
“There’s a lot of joy and pain in the movie. But, I’m just trying to show a simple love story between two young hearts and their innocence and sincerity in their relationship,” said Yasmin.
Besides Chong and Mahesh, other newcomers are introduced in the movie, such as Jaclyn Victor and
Howard Hon Ka Hoe among others. Azean Irdawaty, Jit Murad, Adibah Noor and awardwinning actor Mohd Syafie Naswip are also featured in this heart-warming movie. She added it took the cast more than two and a half months to rehearse their parts.“We had classes where we rehearsed our lines and it was fun to work with the cast. Shooting began right after the classes ended and it only took us about 12 days to shoot,” said Yasmin, adding that Talentime was shot entirely in Ipoh.
Yasmin Ahmad works have often courted controversy.
“I am never ready for it. It is always a hurtful and painful experience for me. I have never intended to provoke anyone with my works,” she said.
“I’m doing this for the sake of my love for the work. I know that there are no words for me to explain how sincere I am with the film, but I hope that it will get through to the viewers when they watch it.”
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