THE New Currents award hosted annually by the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has a history of unearthing the rising stars of Asian cinema as it showcases the work of first- and second-time directors from the region.
In the past, it has been the launching pad for the careers of such talent as the Chinese winner of the Venice Golden Lion Jia Zhangke, whose urban drama Xia Wu won the award way back in 1998.
Since then, there has been a wild array of features presented via the platform and it has also given audiences, both local and international, a feel for the way contemporary Asian cinema is headed.
On the evidence presented so far to audiences at Asia's biggest film festival, Malaysian director Sam Quah is among the most exciting talents to emerge in recent times. The Penang-born helmer's had Sheep Without a Shepherd in the running for the New Currents back in 2019, before the film went on to reap close to one billion yuan from the Chinese box office with its tale of sexploitation, murder and a family fighting corrupt officials.
IMPORTANT RECOGNITION
Quah's A Place Called Silence has just finished its run at BIFF, where it too was in the running for the New Currents. It left audiences in the South Korean port city buzzing. "I am very happy to be recognised by various professionals at such an important film festival," says Quah, adding: "As a creator, this is also a great motivation for expanding my own creativity in the future."
While Sheep Without a Shepherd was a remake of an Indian hit, A Place Called Silence was penned by Quah. Lifted from a real-life case he happened to chance upon via social media, it involved schoolyard bullying, murder and revenge.
The film comes steeped in genre traditions, with its flashes of violence, its characters pushed to the edges of their limits, and its nods to swirling contemporary social issues. "I saw this case on social media, and I was very shocked at the time. After I saw this news, I couldn't get it out of my mind, and that led directly to the production of this movie script," explains Quah.
Adding, he recalls: "When I was a child, I liked genre movies, whether they come from Hollywood or Hong Kong. I like these kinds of elements that require more logical judgment and thinking. Often, this genre discusses human nature, and it's about the direction of human nature. I've always wanted to explore that."
EXCITING NEW DIRECTOR
At the moment Quah is in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao working on his next feature. Although he's had one major box office success in the can already, the 37-year-old is keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground.
"I didn't think about it [box office money]," he confides, adding: "When I'm shooting, I usually don't think about how much the box office might reach. I only focus on the creation of the work. Of course, I'm very happy to be able to get such a box office harvest, but this is also rare."
Voice low, Quah modestly says: "I don't think I can be called a very successful director at the moment. I'm just a relatively lucky rookie director. I think some of the current success has been brought about by team work, and the dedication of many professionals in front of and behind the scenes. That's why I say I'm a very lucky rookie director."
That might be the case, but on the evidence presented so far, Quah is crafting himself a position among the more exciting new directors in Asia, with a talent for being able to build tension and to craft thrillers that keep an audience on the edge of their seats — even if the director himself likes to think of his career more as a work in progress.
"I will not define my own film style for the time being," says Quah, adding: "The only requirement I give to myself is to continuously shoot all kinds of quality movies."
Much has been made about the growth of the Chinese — and the Chinese-language — film market over the past few decades and Quah is living proof of just how lucrative success they can be. "Due to the epidemic in recent years, the film industry in Malaysia has also suffered a lot of shocks and impacts," says Quah.
Adding, he concludes: "What I'm doing now in Qingdao is shooting a commercial film which is actually very challenging for me and the team. I can't really talk about finding opportunities for other Malaysian filmmakers [in China], because I'm also a newcomer, but if I have the opportunity, I'd definitely use my own channels to graft more cooperation opportunities for Malaysian filmmakers."
