News Information
| Date | February 17, 2010 |
| Region | Sarawak |
| Source | The Borneo Post |
KUCHING: History will be made in the Dayak film industry when ‘Saloi the Movie’, the first Iban feature film, makes its nationwide debut in cinemas this May.The film, adapted on the Iban folklore of a clumsy and error-prone man named Apai Saloi is set in the rural modern era but instead of focusing on Apai Saloi, the film is based on Saloi (the son) instead.
Depicting Saloi’s journey as a young man from the rural longhouse trying to make it big in the city, the film deals with hardship, cultural shocks and various migrating issues usually encountered by rural folks moving in to the big city.
In the movie, Saloi is a bright lad who tries to disassociate himself with the ridicule and stupidity usually branded towards his father. Being an outcast in the village, Saloi decides to leave the longhouse life in order to prove to the villagers that he can succeed in the big city.
Starring newcomer Julius Ejau as Saloi, the film also features Blucewalker Breday who assumes the role of ‘Apai’. Supported by another 20 to 25 extras and supporting casts, Blucewalker is the only one with previous acting experiences as his work can be seen in dramas shown in RTM television series.
Speaking at the film’s soft launch at Kuching Park Hotel on Sunday, its executive producer Benny Zach said: “The film has a romantic comedy touch to it but most importantly with a little bit of love and hilarity, it is set both featuring the city and the longhouse background,”
“Most importantly, the moral of the film is to teach the Iban community to be positive and to destroy all negative thinking on all things especially of those not to their understanding,” Benny explained.
He also said the film was shot entirely in Sibu and at Sungai Durin (for the longhouse scenes). The filming only took 15 days to wrap up and the ballpark figure was estimated to be more than RM100,000.
“The first official screening (launch) of the film will be in Bintulu on March 23. Hopefully the film will hit the cinemas by May and it will be shown all over the state, Sabah and also in Johor Bahru,” Benny added.
The director of the movie is Monica Jeff of the ‘I Love Sarawak’ fame – a short feature film which won Best Cinematography in short film category at the Astro Kirana Film Festival in 2008.
Relatively new to the filming industry, Monica’s already strong credential included her being part of the scriptwriter team for the Manjalara TV series shown at TV3 and also Honeyz which was aired on TV2 (RTM).
Apart from that, Monica also wrote scripts for Astro productions and has also worked as a scriptwriter for Datuk Yusuf Haslam and Murali Abdullah, both heavyweights in the local film industry.
The film would also be presented in high definition and it was the brainchild of local film enthusiast Dato Sri Edmund Langgu.
In his speech during the ceremony, Langgu, a former deputy federal minister and who is the main advisor for the film said: “I am glad to know that we have young generations of avid film makers. It is not easy to make a Dayak film as we have to create a good storyline that will reflect the lifestyles and cultures of the Dayak community.
“At large, we are not yet ready for a heavy duty kind of movies based on modern trend such as (local Malay blockbusters) Rempit or Impak Maksima. Creativity, desire, motivation, focus, sensitivity, self discipline, patience and determination are a few necessary attributes one must have to become involved in the art of filmmaking.”
The film is a production of Allen Tinggie Trading Sdn Bhd spearheaded by Joseph Allen Tinggie and Hereward Gramong. The company is a registered member of the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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