Could ‘Kampung Drift’ turn out to be a future cult classic?

WHEN we posted tweets about an upcoming movie called Kampung Drift, some of you cringed inside. The rest of you RT’d and facepalmed.

We understand, it’s the title kan? But don’t worry, to help you get past that we thought we’d tell you why there are people in the world right now who simply cannot wait for this new film from cinematographer-turned-director Nevin Hiong.

Themes include motorsports and time travel

Kampung Drift tells the story of Johan (Syafie Naswip), a teenager who loves drift racing, even though his father objects to the sport. Things continue getting tense between Acai (Pekin Ibrahim) and his son over their disagreements, but Johan soon understands his father’s painful relationship with the sport. Oh, and there’s a time machine that will bring Johan back in time and inspire him to save his father from heartbreak. Soon, Johan will be revisiting pivotal moments in his father’s life to tamper with fate, but at what cost?

Other obstructions between him and his dream include his rival, Ray (Pablo Amirul). But on his side are some whimsical conjurings like the mad scientist Pak Idun and Johan’s secret admirer Sheila.

Seriously though, how many filmmakers do you know who’d have the guts to depict a father-son relationship challenged by clashes in opinion over drift racing? This, amidst a rivalry, a love triangle and going back in time? It’s a bombardment, and the kind we like.

But drifting — a motorsport which rose to mainstream awareness through franchises like Fast and the Furious and Need for Speed — takes centrestage in Nevin’s first film.

Fun fact: current drifting tournaments offer prizes up to RM1 million! Bear in mind the figure could be much larger for underground competitions.

Led by decent enough namepower

Pekin Ibrahim is 35 this year. He has been in a number of significant recent box office hits including Villa Nabila, Mat Moto and Munafik. In fact, who can forget his authentic turn in Nam Ron‘s Matderihkolaperlih on the stage? This is one of Malaysia’s most fascinating actors at present — not only does he show great range, he also appears in enough movies a year to keep himself in public awareness. But Pekin is also notable for not being too picky with his projects — his track record includes drag comedy Coverina and horror flick Paku Pontianak.

Meanwhile, you have Syafie Naswip who’s only 24 but has three Festival Filem Malaysia trophies on his shelf — one for Best Child Actor (Mukhsin) and two for Best Supporting Actor (Talentime, Songlap). Before he turned 17 he had done two films with the late Yasmin Ahmad. This young actor came from a blue-collar family without an Astro subscription, according to at least one ethically-questionable article we found on the net. It’s the kind of success story your parents tell you so you check your privilege.

Put this into a pot with Nevin, the film’s first-time director, also Director of Photography on several cinematic features including romantic drama Cerita Kita and Shaheizy Sam-starred Kasut Ku Kusut. Then add former stuntman-turned-actor Pablo Amirul, known for being very tegap. Lastly, drop in Syazwan Yunos, the viral video star with almost 200,000 followers on alone.

Can you even imagine what all this could be like in one, cohesive product? We can tell you it might look something like this…

By the way, the film’s soundtrack has amassed over one million listens on Youtube. Haziq Putera‘s “” has sailed past 460,000 views while Qanda‘s “” has somewhere around 580,000 views.

Shot from August to September last year, the film features many scenic Malaysian locations utilised as drifting ground. So those who’ve ever wanted to watch cars doing insane things on Lebuhraya Elite USJ, it’s your lucky month. Other places featured in the film include Genting Highlands and Janda Baik.

Convinced yet? We hope so, but stay tuned for more news on the movie coming soon.

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Kampung Drift is a joint production between Mico Studios and Empire Film Solution slated for release next Thursday, 4 August 2016 in cinemas nationwide.