Three-Minute Interracial Romance Still Gaining New Fans, Scores Over 84,000 Likes Online

CURRENTLY trending on short film platform Viddsee is a three-minute short by Malaysian filmmaker Mark Lee. Depicting a teenage romance between an ethnic Malay boy and an ethnic Chinese girl, Eraser has accumulated over 84,000 likes on the platform and a number of positive comments from viewers.

In the film, Amir and Kuan Ai are classmates who fall for one another. However, Kuan Ai’s mother coldly rejects the boy because of their racial differences, relenting only when she notices he is making the effort to learn the Chinese language.

Eraser provides a snapshot of the tense race relationships that crop up every once in a while in Malaysia, but across three minutes, its writer and director sweetly puts forward an insecurity over culture and heritage as a source of misunderstanding. Over anything else, Kuan Ai’s mother seems more concerned with losing her daughter to unfamiliar territory.

The film also took home grand prize in the Viral Video category at Celcom ESCAPE‘s Merdeka Shots two years ago.

Director Mark Lee is recognised mostly for his work in commercials — former clients include Sony and lingerie brand Xixili — and for being the founder of local production house Fiery Films. He was additionally responsible for last year’s Kuala Lumpur 48 Hour Film Project‘s audience choice award-winner, Helianthus.

Mark recently completed his debut feature This Moment of Yesterday, shot last year with Malaysian and Singaporean actors.

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Make sure to check more of Mark’s work on Viddsee and !