Creative pair: Tunku Mona (left) with her husband, Ku Mohamad Haris Ku Sulong, who is also Rain Town’s producer.
PETALING JAYA: Rain Town, the country’s first Chinese language film directed by a Malay woman, is film director Tunku Mona Riza’s homage to Malaysia’s rich cultural tapestry and her call to fellow Malaysians to embrace diversity.
Through the Cantonese film, Tunku Mona hopes audiences will realise the importance of cultural crossovers and the possibility of narrating each other’s stories from different frames of reference as long as this is backed by respect and proper research.
Set in Taiping, a town that earned its “rain town” moniker for its heavy rainfall, the film tells the story of Mr Choo, his Eurasian wife and their three children.
“It’s a family story about a slightly ‘control freak’ father who has plans for his children’s future, but they have dreams of their own,” said Tunku Mona.
Through Mr Choo’s habit of “rain betting”, the audience is also offered an insight into a unique past game of Taiping folks where gamblers would wager on when the first drop of rain would fall.
In the film, the nuances of Mr Choo’s family conflicts play out alongside the appearances of cultural traditions such as tanglung and mooncake, which are among the touches of culture that Tunku Mona wanted to underline in the story.
Rain Town, which features Chew Kin Wah, Susan Lankester, Fabian Loo, Wilson Lee and Pauline Tan, had its world premiere at the 10th Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) in Fuzhou, China, last month.It will debut in Malaysian cinemas on Feb 8 next year in conjunction with Chinese New Year.
Tunku Mona called on Malaysians to support the film.
“We live under the same sky as Malaysians. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Chinese, Indian, Malay, Kadazan or Iban, we assume that we know each other’s culture, but what we know is surface level only,” she said.
It is only through developing cross-cultural understanding that Malaysians can have a deeper knowledge about one another and cultivate more mutual respect, she said. She also added that Malaysians must embrace their differences and live as one.
The ‘Choo’ family: The cast of Rain Town featuring (clockwise from left) Chew, Lee, Tan, Loo and Lankester.
“I think that’s what Malaysia needs, which is to have a story where we all can talk about each other with respect and proper research.
“I think it’s good for us to be borderless because we are unique and have so many diverse ethnicities.
“Some people say we are so fragmented, but I don’t think we are. That’s what people want us to think, but in reality, many of us can work together, understand each other and put our political differences aside,” she said.
Rain Town follows Tunku Mona’s 2016 directorial debut Redha, which is one of the very few Malaysian films to shine a spotlight on autism.
Tunku Mona also said that such films, which depart from common tropes and present different elements, are needed as they enrich the country’s film industry.
“We need all kinds of films. It reflects this society and shows that we have all kinds of people with different kinds of thinking and stories to tell.
“What I would like is for the audience to embrace the different thinking of Malaysian filmmakers to appreciate and support our work whether it’s on the commercial side or otherwise,” she added.
Tunku Mona also said that the government has to recognise that the film industry comprises talented cinematic talent with different approaches, ideologies and business models.
“Having a variety of films, including blockbusters, will show that we have a very healthy nation that is open to various kinds of films, whether commercial or non-commercial, and that provides a stronger fabric for us in the industry,” she said.
After representing Malaysia at the 10th SRIFF in Fuzhou, China, last month, Rain Town is set to be at the 36th Golden Rooster Awards in Xiamen, China, in Nov.
It has also been selected as an opening film at the 27th Vancouver Asian Film Festival in Canada early next month before showing at the 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa in late Nov.On her next project, Tunku Mona said she has “lots more ideas and stories to tell”.
“We hope to make enough money and have an amazing box office (take) because there is so much more that I want to do,” she said.
