Malaysia: Last News

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Debut feature “Tiger Stripes” has already amassed several firsts – it is the first Malaysian film in Cannes for several years and director Amanda Nell Eu is the country’s first female helmer selected for a festival appearance – and it is now releasing its first trailer. The film, which will play in the Cannes Critics’ Week section is the tale of an 11-year-old girl who starts to experience horrifying changes to her body. Eu says that the film is both a metaphor for issues of female identity and the arrival of puberty and also a body horror entertainer. “This comes from my dark sense of humor. People always label young girls as little monsters. They say that teenage girls are emotional or crazy or hysterical. So, my thinking was ‘why don’t I tell a story about a young girl who actually does turn into a monster’ and let me show you what a monster is. It is a metaphor and a genre film,” she told Variety.

Michelle Yeoh never dreamt she’d become an acclaimed Oscar-winning Hollywood star.

Agence France-Presse news agency, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs admitted to seizing “22 Swatch watches with LGBT elements” at one outlet.According to the notice, the seizure was justified by the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984, a law that has been criticized as draconian for allowing the Home Affairs Minister to censor or restrict news or information if doing so is deemed to be “in the interest of security or public order.”A ministry official, who did not want to be named, defended the seizure to the U.K.-based newspaper The Guardian, saying the watches bore the letters “LGBT” and had six colors instead of the seven that naturally appear in a rainbow.Swatch Group Chief Executive Nick Hayek expressed concern over the raids.“We strongly contest that our collection of watches using rainbow colors and having a message of peace and love could be harmful for whomever,” Hayek said in a statement. “On the contrary, Swatch always promotes a positive message of joy in life. This is nothing political.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Tiger Stripes,” the debut feature of Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, won the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics Week, the Cannes sidebar dedicated to first or second films. The prize was awarded by a jury presided over by Audrey Diwan, the Venice prizewinning director of “Happening.” The French Touch Jury Award went to Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s “It’s Raining in the House,” a film about adolescence, while the Revelation prize from the Louis Roederer Foundation was handed out to Jovan Ginic, the actor of Vladimir Perisic’s “Lost Country.”  The SACD prize, meanwhile, went to “Le Ravissement” by Iris Kaltenbäck.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari‘s “Terrestrial Verses,” the sole Iranian film premiering in Cannes’ Official Selection, has been acquired for distribution in key European territories. Represented by Films Boutique, “Terrestrial Verses” has been acquired for France (ARP Selection), Benelux (September Films) and Germany/Austria (Neue Visionen). All three banners are leading distributors in their respective territories. Those deals were closed following the film’s well-received world premiere. “Terrestrial Verses” marks the first collaboration between Khatami and Asgari, who are both acclaimed directors.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has responded to calls for the band to cancel their forthcoming concert in Malaysia.It comes after Nasrudin Hassan, the leader of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), recently called for their show in Kuala Lumpur’s National Stadium Bukit Jalil on November 22 to be cancelled.“What does the government want to nurture a culture of hedonism and perversion in this country? I advise you to just cancel this group’s performance in Malaysia. It brings nothing good to religion, race and country,” he said.Following Hassan’s call to cancel the show – which would be the band’s first-ever in the country – several government ministers rebuked the protest.Now, Martin has stepped in to address the row in an interview with Malaysian national radio station HITZ.“Every time I meet Malaysian people, I feel such a sense of love and warmth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amanda Nell Eu’s “Tiger Stripes,” which had its premiere this week in Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, is being celebrated as a punchy female-driven debut feature and as the first film by a Malaysian woman director in any section Cannes. The story focuses on a small group of 11 or 12-year-old girls. When one of the friends enters puberty she finds her body changing in unexpected ways. Relations with her friends and family start morphing too. Eu’s finished film straddles the metaphorical drama and body horror genres. “Tiger Stripes” is also a triumph for the now highly-developed global network of project markets, talent development programs, script and production workshops (often labelled as ‘labs’) and grant schemes. These are intended to encourage diversity and nurture film-making talent in countries where that is a rarity or where commercial films crowd out more experimental art-house titles.

Amazon Prime Video has announced its first slate of Malaysian content and localized user experience, including its first Malaysian Originals, romantic drama series That Cover Girl and action film Budak Flat.

CANNES (Reuters) - Gong Li, one of China's best actors, told Reuters on Wednesday that Michelle Yeoh's recent success at the Oscars and Golden Globes was particularly encouraging for Asian actors. "Since the beginning of the epidemic to now, in fact, the film industry has not been so vibrant, not like it was before, so her award is also an encouragement," Gong said.

The use of body horror allegories in cinema to address the physical, physiological, and mental changes brought on by puberty could hardly be called original. However, by delightfully and intelligently remixing symbols and metaphors Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu refreshes the concept in her zesty debut feature “Tiger Stripes.”  The term “body horror” could in fact be considered a misnomer in this case, as our fierce lead protagonist Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) doesn’t undergo anything as monstrous as growing a car in her belly or a biogun out of her hand.

While Southeast Asian films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival many times before, and even won the Palme d’Or, there’s an energy around the region this year that we haven’t felt on the Croisette at previous editions. 

Super Junior, is set to go on tour this year.Super Junior D&E – comprising Donghae and Hunhyuk – announced their upcoming 2023 ‘DElight Party’ world tour today (May 15) through the duo’s newly opened social media accounts.The pair’s 2023 world tour will kick-off with a two-night concert in Seoul, South Korean on June 24 and 25. Following which, Super Junior D&E will head on the Asia leg of the tour over the next three months, including shows in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and more.In their official announcement, Super Junior D&E also said that more dates will be revealed in the future.

Charna Flam International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and Women in Animation (WIA) have announced the selection of the five delegates of the second edition of the Stories x Women program. Stories x Women’s works to support and provide opportunities for African, Asia-Pacific Islander and Latin American women animators who want to tell their authentic stories. The program is sponsored by the Walt Disney Company, with additional support from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The five are “Superpunk” (Brazil) led by Mirtes Santana and Guilherme Petreca, “Negocio de Brujas” (Chile) led by Paulina Sanhueza Meléndez and Alejandra Jaramillo Fanta, “Nerea” (Dominican Republic) led by Fabiola Contreras Rosso and Arima Léon, “The Golden Pig” (Malaysia) led by Hwei Ling Ow and Kate Goodwin and “Papo Hapo” (Türkiye/Kenya) led by Irmak Atabek Ndungu and Mbithi Masya.

with a sizzling Saint Laurent dress; and now fans are in a tizzy, as this season’s second half hasn’t even been shot yet.But right now, Asbille has more pressing concerns. “We need shelves!” she says, gesturing at the wall behind her, blank but for a dangling electrical cord. I’ve reached her on Zoom at her new place in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After reaching a fresh peak of 4.6 million net new customer additions in the final quarter of 2022, boosted by the FIFA World Cup soccer competition, premium subscription video growth in Southeast Asia slowed sharply in the first three months of 2023. Research from consultancy and advisory firm Media Partners Asia and its consumer use unit AMPD, showed only 300,000 net new subscriptions between January and March in the five principal markets of Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The study focused on premium VOD streaming and SVoD, while excluding YouTube, TikTok and other social video platforms.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Malaysian social drama “Abang Adik” was named best film and winner of the Golden Mulberry prize on Sunday at the Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine. The film is a story of two undocumented and orphaned men, who may or may not be real brothers, but who lift each other up. The film’s director Jin Ong collected the White Mulberry prize for best debut feature and “Abang Adik” added a third prize decided by the festival’s season pass holders. Second place on the podium went to South Korea with Chang Hang-jun’s “Rebound,” while third place went to “Yudo,” by Japan’s Suzuki Masayuki. 

Fugees co-founder Pras Michel has been convicted for his involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysian money laundering scheme.Yesterday (Wednesday, April 26) a jury found Michel guilty of 10 federal counts, including campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and lying to banks (via Consequence).The 50-year-old rapper, producer, songwriter and actor faces up to 20 years in prison.As reported previously, the case involved fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (aka Jho Low). Jho had been accused of masterminding the theft of some USD$4.5billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1 Malaysia Development Berhad.

Fugees member Pras Michel has been found guilty of conspiring with Malaysian billionaire Jho Low to instigate unlawful foreign lobbying campaigns that sought to influence the governments of two US Presidents, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.The musician was convicted in a Washington court yesterday for campaign finance violations, acting as an unregistered foreign agent, witness tampering and lying to banks. Although he plans to appeal, the conviction could result in years of prison time.The whole thing relates to what is known as the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia.

A Fugees rapper was convicted on Wednesday after a multimillion-dollar political conspiracies trial, which included testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio. Prakazrel "Pras" Michel was accused of funneling money to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign through a now-fugitive Malaysian financier, Jho Low – one of the primary financiers of his film "Wolf of Wall Street."  Michel was also accused of attempting to stop a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration. Michel is known as a founder of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees.

saw witnesses like Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions take the stand and testify under oath. Prosecutors alleged at trial that the Fugees founder immersed himself in American politics at the behest of Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who paid him millions to help launder money Low had allegedly embezzled from a state-owned investment fund in his home country. The alleged scheme involved payments to Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign and efforts to convince the Trump administration to extradite a Chinese national. Low remains at large, but was charged as a codefendant in Michel's case and played a major role in witness testimony and evidence presented to the jury.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Fugees rapper Pras was found guilty Wednesday of 10 counts related to a multimillion-dollar “clandestine foreign influence campaign scheme” funded by a wealthy Malaysian financier to peddle influence in the United States, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.  The trial included testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The rapper, whose real name is Prakazrel Michel, was accused of funneling money from Low Taek Jho, a now-fugitive Malaysian financer, through false donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and then attempting to quash a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.