Sofia Jane Has Just Casually Answered A Ton Of Fan Questions On ‘Hanyut’ In A Facebook Group

Last week, we tried to dig up all the information we could find online on U-Wei Haji Saari‘s as-yet unreleased Hanyut and presented it to our readers. The piece resulted in some amusing feedback and provoked discussion on Twitter and Facebook.

Our favourite of the lot has to be filmmaker Rewan Ishak‘s retweet of our article.

Imagine our surprise when we received a flood of alerts from Bernard Kung (who we quoted in the original piece) to check out the Malaysian Heritage and History Club (MHHC) on .

We did, and we stumbled upon posts by actress Sofia Jane, who plays Almayer’s wife in Hanyut.

It all started with Facebook user Jab Sabaka, who posted a promo image of Hanyut on the 27th of July. First to respond was MHHC founder, Bert Tan, who simply tagged Sofia in his comment. The rest, as they say, was history.

We had a read through the entire thing, picked up moments we enjoyed, and put it all into an FAQ-styled document for those seeking answers. Here you go, readers!

 

Sesi Soal Jawab Bersama Datin Sofia Jane, Anjuran MHCC!

Dear Sofia Jane…. when? (originally posted by Jab Sabaka)

Hi Jab! Thanks for asking. The producers have a serious problem in terms of funds to get the movie out and shown in the circuit. Short of kick-starting an outreach campaign to get it going, the producers are still trying to find ways of raising the money, unfortunately.

Alaaaarrrr. So, will it be buried somewhere in the archives? (originally posted by Jab Sabaka)

I really hope not. Much blood, sweat and tears have been invested to film it and have it completed. The cast and crew are also wishing for a miracle. It’s U-Wei’s finest to date.

Wow! Sofia Jane!!! (originally posted by Allan Koay)

Hi Allan!

Is it to do with retaining ownership? I understand international distributors demand something like a pound of flesh from you in return for distributing it around the world. (originally posted by Nabil bin Ahmad)

No, nothing like that Nabil. MOSTI gave RM6 million in grant form while FINAS gave RM2 million. There’s also a RM10 million loan from BSN. Ownership of the film totally goes to its producers.

I guess U-Wei’s worst nightmare would be to release the film without proper promotion, which the team cannot afford at the moment, in the current Malaysian cinematic climate. The money borrowed needs to be paid back, and it’s no small amount.

It’s really hard to fight for your self worth and your craft sometimes, Nabil. But I don’t think he is giving up just yet.

Have you thought of being a director or producer? (originally posted by Jab Sabaka)

Can’t afford it, not in this volatile climate. Stories that most would like to do probably won’t see the light of day here, so those who want to carry on look at producing stories that would be marketable outside.

These producers are also very active on the festival circuit in order to get their work out and noticed, and we have a few who are already known out there. Unfortunately, Malaysians don’t know much about these folk.

I’ve seen the movie, Sofia Jane! You were amazing in playing the role of the crazy but brilliant wife! Hope the movie finds its way to the big screen. (originally posted by Shaun Adam)

Thank you very much Shaun, I am humbled.

It’s not released but how come some of you get to watch it? And also the movie got nominated for awards? I am struggling to faham here! (originally posted by Bert Tan)

Bert, there have been private screenings as mentioned to garner interest and support to get the movie out. But as I told U-Wei, he might as well be charging an entrance fee, hah hah.

Wasn’t it shown in Indonesia? Under a different title? (originally posted by Jab Sabaka)

Yes, the Indonesian actress in the movie (who happens to be a producer) decided to take it up and show it in Indonesia. It played for about a month or so.

How did the movie do in Indonesia? (originally posted by Amiruddin Abdul Aziz)

Amiruddin, the film was well received by critics; they have not watched a Malaysian product quite like it for a while, not to mention that they have been quite detached from our local films for a long time. Audiences were curious but pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t a box office hit, but it did get the audience discussing, which is always a good thing.

I hope if Hanyut finally makes it to the screen, U-Wei can make money. It will be so unfair otherwise – we will just be killing talents. (originally posted by Jab Sabaka)

Jab, he would need to make at least 20 million, at least half of which goes to cinema.

So the issue seems to be about making money and to pay back loans and investors? If some rich sponsor (for example, Qatari) came into the picture then there would be no more problems? Would that be right? (originally posted by Nabil bin Ahmad)

The pressing issue would be to repay the loan, as it would make institutions such as BSN happy and optimistic about future film projects with serious producers. But we need an audience too. That, I’m afraid, is the biggest challenge. Numbers have declined tremendously at the box office due to many factors.

Dear Sofia, I am the author of the recent article on Hanyut on Daily Seni Online which aimed to bring the movie back into public consciousness. May I ask for permission to republish your comments here on a follow-up article? (originally posted by Deric Ect)

Hi Deric, let me scroll back on what I said lol.

But on a serious note, the best person to say anything would be the maestro himself. That’s just my two cents worth; I don’t know whether there’s anything else prohibiting the film from being released besides the funds needed. But sure, I’m ok with that, though we both know the problem is not just to do with Hanyut but other filmmakers and their products too.

We don’t have a market locally, and we need to pinpoint the problems and address it – we need to work out what our values are and then align those values with our actions.

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Wah, what is this Facebook group and why got Sofia Jane one?

With that, we want to thank the MHCC for having a conducive, safe environment where fans and stars can interact in a sane and relaxed manner. These guys are actually pretty cool, once you figure out what they do.

Created by Bert Tan in 2012, the MHHC may be a non-registered group, but it has amassed over 10,000 members! Its members range from ordinary people such as students, retirees, and housewives, to Sofia Jane (as well as prominent academics, leaders in various fields, and Malaysian expatriates).

These guys talk a fair bit about Malaysian culture and heritage, but they keep away from polarizing political posts, which probably explains why they’re doing pretty well.

Despite being an unregistered organisation, they frequently host events and talks on Malaysian heritage to get the public involved. They have their People’s Merdeka Exhibition coming up on the 5th to the 6th of September at Badan Warisan, No. 2 Jalan Stonor, KL, so if you’re interested to exhibit or just have a look make sure you hit them up.

Other members of the club include writer Zedeck Siew, theatre goddess Jo Kukathas, Kakiseni‘s Lainie Yeoh, actress/director Melissa Saila, My Performing Art Agency‘s Izan Satrina as well as architect Nani Kahar.