Photos by Ariff Aris and Sandie Lee
It takes more than perseverance to direct a film under a tight budget. But if anyone is up to the job, it's Khairil Bahar, the protagonist who filmed Ciplak, a story about a pirated DVD seller, with ten thousand ringgit (RM8,500 of which was spent on the camera) in his pocket during the weekends whilst still working for an advertising company as a copywriter.
The film was released by Aflam Sdn Bhd and distributed by Golden Screen Cinemas in the GSC International Screens in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The film was very well received with a majority of positive reviews across the board. 'Ciplak' also won the Anugerah Skrin 2006 for 'Best Alternative Film'.
Writer, director, producer, editor, actor and musician (he plays guitar in the Rolling Sixers, a "hard stoner blues rock band from the muddy banks of KL" when he's not busy with theatre and music video duties), Khairil recently wrapped production on his third feature length movie Relationship Status.
Featuring a cast of familiar faces (Daphne Iking, Will Quah, Gavin Yap, Susan Lankester, Davina Goh, Tony Eusoff), Relationship Status tells the story of a number of KL-ites from all walks of life whose relationships are created, changed and sometimes even ruined by social networking and the way we communicate in this day and age. We asked Khai to keep a production diary for us and here's the result.
For full story: see the August 2011 issue of Clive magazine
