A Malaysian sci-fi fantasy feature film is taking an unconventional approach to distribution.
“Mimpi Kita: Aerial Fortress” is appearing in the IT project category of the NAFF Project Market at South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, betting that pre-collected audience data can do some of the work traditionally left to sales agents.
Fu Hui Ying, executive producer at Kuala Lumpur-based Kotodama Lab, is leading the effort, which uses analytical tools to find and grow online groups already drawn to the film’s genres and themes. The goal is to enter the market with a measurable fan base already in place, rather than betting on it happening after release.
This film is Arifin Ajib’s directorial debut. The team will be pitching to co-producers, sales agents and distribution partners at the market, which will be held from July 4th to 7th. Anti Gravity Euphoria Sdn Bhd and flagship Da Huang Pictures, run by Malaysian new wave figure Tan Chui Mui, whose credits include “Barbarian Invasion”, are behind the project.
Humanity’s escape plan in this film is an ark of escape from a devastated Earth, made possible in part by medical advances. Dying patients can temporarily project their minds into synthetic bodies and witness milestones they otherwise would have missed. Ardha, a musician whose creativity is stifled by grief, loses his grandmother Teja to the system’s digital underpinnings. Rather than have his family unplug Teja’s life support, Ardha puts his mind into one of the composites and goes looking for her in the dream structure below.
What started as a rescue becomes more like a treatment. Arda ends up reliving rejection after rejection that was buried in Teja’s memory. And the deeper she goes, the more it becomes clear that the entire quest is a set-up. The structure was constructed in order for Alda to finally face the truth about her life. At the heart of this film is the question of what one generation owes to the next. Do young people have to fully understand the sacrifices that have taken place before them, or can they quietly let that history disappear without the love behind it disappearing?
Anwari Ashraf, who produced and directed the project, cited a limited budget and infrastructure for the team’s success, calling it “unique, unique and completely unique.”
He added that the film’s main strength was “its refusal to be anything other than itself.”
“I was intrigued by the idea of this homemade local sci-fi with Nogori roots and offered to produce it for Nogori,” Tan said.
FINAS (National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia) CEO Dato’ Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib said “Mimpi Kita” is an important moment for Malaysian cinema.
The creative team plans to hold an industry conference at the NAFF Project Market in Bucheon.
