The heartfelt voice of South-East Asian film. In Singapore best known for the MCYS ads on Family (Red Shoes and the funeral). To me, the only person who dared to talk about race so openly yet so subtly that it touched the heart.
This is my thoughts on her passing. I met her twice.
Warm, a ball of energy and positive. I saw her at the traffic light opposite SMU, Joe (my twin) had just photographed her for Straits Times a few days before. She was walking with Bee Thiam from the Asian Film Archive. I recognized her and Bee Thiam and was surprised when she said hi to me, recognizing my face but also knowing i wasn't Joe. (filmmakers are damm sharp okay, most people get confused by twins, and Yasmin Ahmad was among e best of them) She sent her regards to Joe.
-- This was within the last year, i don't even remember when. --
Even before that, i watched Rabun, her first feature, and she was there to talk about it. I don't think i had the courage to go up to talk to her at the National Museum (then at its temporary premises at Riverside Walk). I remember respecting her, and the images of the film still stay in my mind. It hit me a couple of hours ago. I think her parents out-lived her.
Why was she important to me?
Because she talked about race, and love between races. She didn't talk. She showed. Images of love, affection that crossed boundaries. I've never been able to talk about race in any creative work that i have done. I'm mixed race, Chindian and i feel it very keenly in Singapore. I'm neither Indian nor Chinese and both sides treat me weird, people don't intend it, but they do. Sometimes, when I talk to a chinese stranger they'll naturally talk to me in English first, even when i speak to them in Mandarin (which i'm slowly growing more comfortable with). 为何人要看别人的皮肤的颜色？
I felt that Yasmin Ahmad would tell those stories that challenge our sterotypes on race and change the world slowly through her films.
I couldn't talk about race and how i felt about the whole thing (how it was enshrined in education, how i hate having "Indian" on my IC when i speak exactly one word of Tamil and no Malayalam) I felt i could rest and let Yasmin Ahmad tell those stories. She's lived a strong and long life with much rich experience, let her tell the tales. I looked up to her and wished for my own love story, a life wealthy in love and not difference and a life not spent looking at others through lines of class and race.
Now she is gone and there is no one to tell the stories of Malays and Chinese and Indians, struggling to live in the urban jungles of Singapore, KL, Johore Baru, the tensions in the rural heartland of peninsula malaysia. When Yasmin Ahmand tells a story of Malaysian people, she tells a story that resonates in Singapore (she doesn't intend this, she makes movies about people, people and just plain people.)
How now? Who is going to tell those stories. Maybe we have to learn to speak from our hearts, and clear our own cobwebs. To look beyond our racial and class silos in Singapore, the basic materialism (educational qualifications, income and posessions) and see the greatest value in life is to hold someone's hand, and hug a friend. People are people who are just plain people.
Thank you for that lesson Yasmin. Thank you for that 2 minute chat at the traffic light, and the vibe of fresh confidence you give off. God Bless you on your way. Your work will not be forgotten, Inshallah.
credit: http://southeastasiancinema.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/yasmin-ahmad-1958-2009/
A few quotes from Yasmin Ahmad:
"I just hate borders and I hate those arbitrary divisions between people. I simply want to make films about humanity. Ever since I was young, I was always concerned about humanity – not in a Mother-Theresa-kind of way, but I was interested in the day-to-day-interactions between people. I find that in our pursuit to achieve success, we sometimes forget some basic human qualities, like kindness and compassion. I always tried to inject those feelings that I have into any film that I make, whether it is an advertising film or a movie. For me, film is the opportunity to remind human beings to be human again."
On whether her films are about malaysian identity
"No, they are basically about people. There were some local critics who said that my films were championing the Chinese, and others said that my commercials were championing the Indians, and the Malays were complaining anyway. But I kept saying my films are about human beings, and I want you to forget about the race of the protagonists half an hour into the film, and focus on their character. I say that specifically because Malaysians are so aware of the race issues in the country. But now, that my films have won, thank god, international awards nobody can say anymore that I make films just for Malaysians."
A few quotes from Yasmin Ahmad:
"I just hate borders and I hate those arbitrary divisions between people. I simply want to make films about humanity. Ever since I was young, I was always concerned about humanity – not in a Mother-Theresa-kind of way, but I was interested in the day-to-day-interactions between people. I find that in our pursuit to achieve success, we sometimes forget some basic human qualities, like kindness and compassion. I always tried to inject those feelings that I have into any film that I make, whether it is an advertising film or a movie. For me, film is the opportunity to remind human beings to be human again."
On whether her films are about malaysian identity
"No, they are basically about people. There were some local critics who said that my films were championing the Chinese, and others said that my commercials were championing the Indians, and the Malays were complaining anyway. But I kept saying my films are about human beings, and I want you to forget about the race of the protagonists half an hour into the film, and focus on their character. I say that specifically because Malaysians are so aware of the race issues in the country. But now, that my films have won, thank god, international awards nobody can say anymore that I make films just for Malaysians."
Her Two MCYS ads: (which she's known for in Singapore)
Funeral:
Family: (a.k.a The red shoes one)
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