Historical drama: A scene from the movie directed by Chong.
Compiled by ELISHA MARY EASTER, C.ARUNO and R.ARAVINTAN
SNOW In Midsummer, the second feature film by award-winning Malaysian director Chong Keat Aun, will finally be shown here after four rounds of review by local censors, Sin Chew Daily reported.
He had earlier expressed concern that it would not reach the big screens in Malaysia as it was about the aftermath of the May 13 racial riots – a topic which remains sensitive despite the incident happening nearly 60 years ago.
“Akan datang. Coming soon. Heavy snow is about to fall from the sky,” he wrote, adding the film would begin screening in July.
The film had earlier won Best Sound Effects in the prestigious Golden Horse Awards, got the Special Mention Musa Cinema and Arts Award at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, and bagged the Firebird Award for Best Film At The 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Chong said many survivors of the incident had asked when his film would be shown back home ever since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year.
“Many of them had family members who were old and frail. What is sad is that some of them had passed away during the wait.
“I feel deeply sorry for them. I must also thank those who travelled all the way to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore to watch it,” he said.
Chong won Best Director at the Golden Horse Awards for his first feature film Story of Southern Islet in 2020, which tells a story of a woman’s quest to find a cure for her husband who was thought to have been cursed by black magic.
> The daily also reported that Hong Kong actress Linda Chung denied that her husband would be jealous of her flying all the way from Canada to Hong Kong to attend the premiere of her ex-boyfriend’s new film.
The 40-year-old was spotted recently supporting her old flame Philip Ng’s new film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.
Chung even praised the details in the script as well as the male stars Ng and Raymond Lam.
“All of the actors did well. Philip has finally gotten to play the role he deserves,” she said.
“I feel so happy for him. He has always been waiting for the right character to come by.
“He looks good with long hair and the character suits him. I am really proud of him.”
When asked if Chung’s husband Jeremy Leung, a chiropractor, would be jealous of his wife openly supporting her old flame, she replied in the negative.
“It won’t happen. My husband has a lot of self-confidence, and we are both loyal to each other,” she said.
She added that Ng and her remained good friends and they still text each other during festivals and birthdays.
Chung married Leung in 2015 and they have three children together.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
