Green Love Brings Malaysia To The World

By Siti Hajar Mohd Salleh SABAK BERNAM (Selangor, Malaysia), July 29 (Bernama) -- Whether be it in sports, arts, entertainment or films, Malaysians have more than ocassionally created a name for themselves and the country. It is these achievements which have opened the world's eyes that this small South-East Asian country is capable of giving foreign talent a run for their money. Some may still doubt the capability of local producers and directors to come up with hit movies, but believe it or not the world already recognises and appreciates the work of Malaysian film makers. GREEN LOVE Green Love, the latest film directed and produced by locals, features a mix of new and popular faces from Hong Kong, China and Malaysia and is expected to showcase Malaysia around the globe. Film producer Andy Lee, whose experience in the world of filming dates back to 2003, acknowledged that Green Love has a unique and one-of-a-kind message on love. Not your typical boy meets girl story, it highlights love from various dimensions including family and the environment. "The special thing about this film is a different dimension on what we consider as unconditional love and not expecting anything in return. It's not very deep but I think the audience will get emotional. This is simple daily thing but we always neglect this love because of materialism so we want the audience to experience the basic of what love is about. "We named the movie Green Love because we talk about the environment, not only about love among ourselves. So you can see in this movie a message on the environment and a little on how to save the world," he told Bernama during filming here recently. According to Andy, the love story is scheduled to be screened in March or April 2017 and would also be shown in Hong Kong as well as other South-East Asian countries. Because the film is bilingual, using Cantonese and English, it is expected to be screened in the United States as well. "This movie combines English and Cantonese. The young ones speak in English while the older ones in Cantonese so it's quite international. "Our company aims for a good production so we collaborated with Singapore and Thailand so we can have a larger audience than just the Malaysian community," he added. FINAS AND ATTRACTING TOURISTS Andy, who also produced the movie The 3rd Generation which won awards for Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography and Most Promising Actress at the 19th Malaysian Film Festival, considered himself lucky for the cooperation he received from the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) in making the film. Besides assisting in scouting for shooting locations, Finas also contributed US$294,747 (RM1.2 million) to fund his first-ever love story. "This movie is directed by C.L Hor who is a very talented director and we've been working together for more than 10 years. Before this we made action movies, movies on art and super powers, but this is our first movie about love and we are glad to have received help from Finas," he added. For Finas chairman Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, the film is capable of attracting tourists to Malaysia. "The presence of popular Hong Kong actors like Wu Fung, Rossane Lui, Edward Chui and Lisa Ch'ng was an advantage and as the film was fully shot in Malaysia it would attract more people to the country. "Among the reasons Finas contributed RM1.2 million is to foster multi-racial unity and when the movie becomes a box office hit it will draw people to visit places featured in the movie such as Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Sungai Klah Hotspring, Perak, Ma Ni Villa, Selangor and Putrajaya," he continued. TALENT Meanwhile, Mohd Khusairi suggested Malay producers emulate Andy's efforts and actions in expanding the market for his film. He said today's Malay film producers were talented and it was time that their work is sold abroad, in other countries besides Indonesia. "Malay producers are encouraged to find producer friends from other countries so our films can be marketed there. In Andy's case, they haven't even finished filming or done any promotion but there are people in the US who have offered to buy the film because the actions he has taken are effective. "Malay directors, like Syamsul Yusof, are capable of making world class films. To me, his movie Munafik can reach a wider market like Muslim countries if he makes a few tweaks and changes the language or include dubbing because the message in the movie is good," said Mohd Khusairi. APPRECIATION Meanwhile, one of the movie's stars Wu Fung appreciated the efforts of all parties involved in making the movie a success. The veteran Hong Kong actor was happy for being able to work with the director and producer from Malaysia. "In my 60 years as an actor, this is my first time coming to Malaysia and working with a team from Malaysia. Obviously I'm very happy to be part of this movie. "The crew is very energetic, hard working, cooperative and responsible. This is hard to find and they ensure everything goes smoothly and easily," he said. He added that he hoped the film would inspire and touch the hearts of viewers once it hits the silver screen in 2017. -- BERNAMA