IFFI-2008 - International Film Festival of India

COMPETITION
CINEMA OF THE WORLD
IFFI-2008
Malaysia
Shadows / Wayang
2008, 35 mm, Colour, 110 mins, Malay
Director
Hatta Azad Khan
Screenplay
Hatta Azad Khan
Cinematography
Mazli Abdul Rahman
Editor
Hafiz Kamaruzaman
Cast
Eman Manan (Awang Lah), Zul Huzaimy Marzuki (Awi),
Mas Muharni
(Melor), Ida Nerina (Mak Esah), Wan Kenari (Jusoh)
Art
Hafshizan Hashim
Sound
Faizal Ghazali
Production & Sales
Universiti Teknologi Mara
Fact / Kampus Puncak Perdana
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor, Malaysia
T: 603 7962 2401
F: 603 7962 2405
Email: hattazad@yahoo.com
Master puppeteer, Awang Lah, becomes a uneasy teacher to Awi, a blind, orphaned boy,
and Melor, a girl with a nasal problem. Though blind, Awi is adept at memorising
wayang kulit stories. Melor, too, shows great skill in creating the puppets and
manipulating them on the screen as Awi recites the stories. Now adult, Awi's innovative
ways of telling the time-worn tales of the Ramayana is well-received by his audience but
Awang Lah is not pleased. To him, the traditional wayang kulit performance are
sacrosanct and must not be tampered with. Awang Lah's problems are further
compounded by the antics of his cousin, Jusoh, who considers Awang Lah and his
wayang kulit as heretical. Loves begins to bloom between the blind Awi and Melor.
Jusoh, who has an eye for Melor, begins to throw all manner of obstacles in their path,
resulting in Awi being blamed for burning down Awang Lah's wayang kulit theatre.
Awang Lah confronts Jusoh when he discovers that Jusoh was the real culprit. Now
strongly protective of Awi and Melor, Awang Lah warns Jusoh to keep away from them.
Circumstances become too much for Awang Lah and he collapses during a wayang kulit
performance.
Prof Hatta Azad Khan was born in 1952. He studied theatre directing and scenography
in the US and film studies in Australia. He is a professor of theatre and film studies, and
the dean of the Faculty of Artistic and Creative Technology of Universiti Teknologi
Mara, Malaysia. He writes and directs stage plays and musicals, and also writes scripts
for feature films, documentaries and sitcoms. He wrote and directed the most popular
and the longest-running sitcom Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu, which ran for 18 years on
Malaysia's TV3 channel. His first feature film, Mat Som (based on Lat's comic book),
won the best screenplay award at the 1992 Malaysian Film Festival and represented
Malaysia in international film festivals in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hawaii, Bangalore, Taipei
and Jakarta. Wayang is his second feature film based on his own screenplay.
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