The Story of Southern Islet
南巫
Directed byChong Keat Aun
Written byChong Keat Aun
Produced byLim Hui Bee
Starring
  • Jojo Goh
  • Pearlly Chua
  • Season Chee
CinematographyChan Hai Liang
Music byYii Kah Hoe
Running time
105 minutes
CountryMalaysia
LanguagesCantonese
Hokkien
Malay
Mandarin

The Story of Southern Islet (Chinese: 南巫) is a 2020 Malaysian film directed by Chong Keat Aun. The film is his first feature. The plot was inspired by the director's own childhood in Northern Malaysia.[1] The film received various awards and positive critical response.

Premise

Yan's husband, Cheong, catches a mysterious disease. Yan seeks the help of various shamans in the hope that they can improve his condition, that conventional doctors seem unable to cure .

Themes

A review explained that "What is comparatively more menacing are the political spectres. Set in 1987, the film features news reports of the Malaysian government’s policies of the time, made all the more eerie with today’s hindsight. For Malaysian Chinese, the year might spark resentment of the government’s closure of Chinese media outlets, how Chinese schools were sent non-Chinese-educated teachers for senior positions, and Operation Lalang."[2]

Release

The film was theatrically released in November 2020.[3]

The Story of Southern Islet was selected for the 2021 Locarno International Film Festival,[4] the International Rotterdam FIlm Festival, the Golden Horse FIlm Festival, where it won the Award for the Best Director, and the Valladolid Film Festival.[5]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2020 Golden Horse Film Festival NETPAC Award Won [6]
Observation Missions for Asian Cinema Award Won
FIPRESCI Prize Won
57th Golden Horse Awards Best New Director Won [7][8]
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2021 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize Won [9][10]
25th Fantasia International Film Festival AQCC - Camera Lucida Prize Won [11][12]

Reception

A review in Screen Daily found that "The Story Of Southern Islet is a little unfathomable at times but that only adds to its sense of mystery. Chong seems to place more emphasis on storytelling and showcasing issues around Malaysian identity than developing well rounded characters.."[13] The reviewer for Asian Movie Pulse described the genre of the film by evoking the wider Malaysian context, "Although the movie could easily have become a horror, Chong Keat Aun's steady directorial hand does not allow the narrative to fall that way, with the supernatural elements serving another purpose, that of presenting the mixture of cultures, mentalities and ways of thinking that dominate the area. In that regard, and in combination with the realism permeating the market scenes and the overall everyday life, the movie essentially functions as a tour guide to all the antithetical aspects that comprise life in Malaysia, including the co-existence of the natural and the supernatural."[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Story of Southern Islet | IFFR". iffr.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  2. ↑ "Film Review: 'The Story of Southern Islet' 《南巫》Awes With Its Intricate Cultural Tapestry". Sinema.SG. 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  3. ↑ "Diaspora, Syncretism, Home: Chong Keat Aun's "The Story of Southern Islet"". ari.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  4. ↑ Desbois, Erwan (2023-09-04). "Venice 2023 review: Snow in Midsummer (Chong Keat Aun)". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  5. ↑ The Story of Southern Islet (2020) | MUBI, retrieved 2023-09-08
  6. ↑ "Malaysia's Chong Keat Aun wins best new director at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards for film inspired by Kedah childhood". Malaymail. 2020-11-22.
  7. ↑ "Malaysian Director wins Golden Horse Awards for his first debut movie". NAT. 2020-11-22.
  8. ↑ "Msian director Chong Keat Aun shines in international arena". NST. 2020-11-25.
  9. ↑ "The Story of Southern Islet Wins FIPRESCI Prize". VIMooZ. 2021-04-11.
  10. ↑ "HKIFF45 Announces Firebird and FIPRESCI Prize Winners". AsianMoviePulse. 2021-04-11.
  11. ↑ "The 25th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival unveils its winners!". OrcaSound. 2021-08-26.
  12. ↑ "Fantasia International Film Festival 2021 Awards Announced". DreadCentral. 2021-08-26.
  13. ↑ Hunter2021-06-02T08:05:00+01:00, Allan. "'The Story Of Southern Islet': Rotterdam Review". Screen. Retrieved 2023-09-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Kotzathanasis, Panos (2021-11-22). "Film Review: The Story of Southern Islet (2020) by Chong Keat Aun". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
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