Malay director proud of Cantonese film despite language obstacle

MALAYSIANSKINI | Fresh from receiving accolades aboard, Cantonese film "Rain Town" is set to open in local cinemas this Thursday (Feb 8).

The highly-anticipated film will be one of 11 local and foreign films opening around the same time, but it certainly is a curiosity.

The reason is that director Tunku Mona Riza Tunku Khalid can neither speak nor understand Cantonese even though 70 percent of the film’s dialogue is in that dialect.

Then again, not understanding the language used has never been an obstacle in the past when she directed advertisements in languages such as Mandarin, Khmer, and Vietnamese.

She has also made telefilms in Iban (Uri) and Javanese (Parit Jawa).

“It’s going to be very stressful. Hopefully, I can get good traction from the audience,” said Tunku Mona to Malaysiakini about the movie’s opening. The crucial first three days of screening can make or break a film.

Tunku Mona, 57, won international acclaim for her film Redha (2016) which was selected as Malaysia’s entry for the Best Foreign Film category at the 89th Academy Awards.

Redha did not receive the official nomination but her poignant story of a couple raising an autistic child earned rave reviews.

On the day of the interview with Malaysiakini, it was announced that Tunku Mona is also one of the three Malaysian women who...