‘Orang Ikan’ Director Mike Wiluan On Making A WWII Creature Film Set In Southeast Asia
deadline.comBased on a mythological creature recorded in several Malay and Indonesian accounts, the WWII-set Orang Ikan makes a bold foray into the creature film genre.
The Singapore-Indonesia-Japan-UK co-production is making its rounds on the international festival circuit, receiving its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival in the Gala Selection, before heading to the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival’s Asteroid Competition for its European premiere and then the Singapore International Film Festival in December. “I’m a big fan of creature art and this idea of the fish man, or orang ikan came about,” said director Mike Wiluan. “This mythological creature existed in Malay mythology but it hasn’t really been explored.
However, there were many stories of sightings by fishermen of these humanoid sea creatures, cropping up time and time again for over 100 years.” The film stars actor-musician Dean Fujioka (Fullmetal Alchemist) and Callum Woodhouse (All Creatures Great and Small).
Wiluan also brought on Allan B. Holt as Orang Ikan‘s creature designer; Holt has worked on films like Jurassic World, RoboCop and G.I.
Read more on deadline.com
