Fan Bingbing in “Mother Bumi” is so unrecognizable that even her friends didn’t recognize her. For the Chinese superstar, that’s exactly what matters.
“I was really happy to see this kind of reaction for the first time,” Hwang told Variety ahead of the film’s competition premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival. “I want the audience to see not Fan Bingbing, but a woman who fights for her land and stands firm for her people. I am completely immersed in this role.”
“Mother Bhoomi,” directed by Chong Keat Aung, is set in a Malaysian rice-growing village in the late 1990s and depicts the struggle of Hong Im, a widowed farmer and ritual healer, to protect her family and community amid political instability and land confiscation. During the day, she resists the developers. At night, she performs healing and exorcisms. Strange events unfold as colonial conflicts resurface. Spirits return, black magic comes to life, and the legacy of empire haunts both the living and the dead of Pujan Valley.
The film represents a surprising departure for Fan, who has built a career playing bold, outwardly strong characters in everything from historical blockbusters to intimate dramas. “Hong Im is different. Her strength lies within,” she explains. “She doesn’t scream or scream. Instead, she fights through quiet tenacity and gentle protection. This quality of overcoming strength with kindness is something I have rarely expressed before.”
The conversion required months of intensive preparation, far exceeding the usual screenplay work. Phan watched a documentary about a Malaysian village every day, learned to till the fields like the characters, and learned blessing rituals with the villagers.
“I accompanied the villagers and learned the local dialect. In addition to memorizing the lines from the script, I also imitated the intonations of daily conversations and cries during farming. I immersed myself in their traditional rituals, such as the blessing of the land written in the script. I studied the meaning behind every gesture and prayer of the village elders, not just acting out the movements, but grasping their underlying beliefs in the coexistence of humanity and the earth.” Say.
That immersion extended to the rhythms of village life. “During the shoot, I watched villagers head out to their fields at sunrise, and smoke rose from their homes at sunset,” she recalls. “I took these scenes to heart and immersed myself completely. That way, when I acted, I felt grounded and not isolated.”
Most importantly, he said, “My heart felt empty. I imagined myself growing up in a village, feeling dependent on the land and the panic of losing my home. The influence of the land on people is profound. As I soaked up this atmosphere, I gradually began to resemble Hong Im. Even in my gaze, the obsession of this character came through.”
Although Hong Im navigates both the tangible and spiritual realms, fans were determined to keep this character grounded in reality. “This character’s spirituality is not fanciful; it grows from the earth itself,” she says. “For example, she foresees danger through changes in nature. These abilities must be based on genuine emotions.”
“I translate the seemingly mystical elements into the character’s intuition. When she senses that the land is about to be violated, it’s not through supernatural forces, but through details like the growth of the crops or the temperature of the water in the river. This gives her spirituality a grounded foundation,” Fan added. “In this way, realism and mysticism do not conflict, but instead make the character more multifaceted. She is both an ordinary person rooted in the land and a protector with a mission for it.”
Working on a Malaysian-Italian co-production proved to be revelatory, offering fans an insight into different approaches to storytelling and performance. “What excites me the most is the collision of creative visions,” she says. “The Malaysian team values emotional nuance. When filming interactions between villagers, we encourage them to capture more unscripted moments, such as flowing water or a gentle tap on the shoulder, explaining these as unspoken bonds within the village.”
On the other hand, she says, “The Italian team excelled at poetic cinematography, guiding me to convey the inner turmoil of the characters with just their gaze. Even a single shot of someone gazing at the earth can evoke a deep dialogue between humanity and the land.”
Mr. Huang explains that this collaboration was not about one party persuading the other, but about jointly discovering the most appropriate expression for the story. For example, consider a scene where the land is blessed. We combined details of local rituals with the romantic interplay of light and shadow seen in European films, resulting in a truly breathtaking effect. ”
After more than 20 years in the industry and a global career ranging from the Golden Horse Awards to film festivals in Berlin and Tokyo, Hwang has established clear criteria for selecting international productions.
“For me, the appeal of international projects is never the scale of the production, but whether the role has soul,” she says. “Of course, first I look for universal emotions in a story, like ‘Mother Bhumi’, which is about defending the motherland. Everyone can feel that emotion, whether the audience is from Malaysia, China or any other country. Then I consider whether the character has room to grow, whether they can explore a side of themselves that they haven’t shown before. If the project just has an international label and the role is flat, I won’t take it.”
Her artistic goals have become clearer over time, and her main mission is to “portray characters that resonate with audiences, regardless of the country the story originates from.”
Playing Hong Im fundamentally changed the relationship between fans and nature. “Before, the land felt so far away from me, but after playing this role, I instinctively connected to the ground beneath my feet,” she says. “When I walk along the ridges of a field, I wonder how long it takes for the crops here to grow. When it rains, I worry that the plants in the field will be flooded.”
The film’s title literally means “Mother Earth,” but through the process it took on a deeper meaning. “Through this role, I learned that the land is not a lifeless vessel, but a member of a family that coexists with us. We depend on the land to survive, and in return we need to protect it. Now, when I witness the changes in nature, I feel a deeper sense of awe than before, and truly understand what it means to cherish what we have.”
After more than 20 years in the industry, Phan’s answer when asked how she defines artistic growth reveals the evolution of her approach to art. “My artistic growth has evolved from first playing a role to now trying to be that character,” she explains. “I used to focus on how well I portrayed characters, but now I’m thinking about how to bring them to life through empathy rather than technique.”
“What’s really challenging me right now are characters that I’m not familiar with. They represent lives I’ve never lived before and emotions I’ve never felt before,” she says. “A role like Hong Im has so many unknowns and uncertainties that I get very excited about. I feel like each new character opens a new door to a different world. This sense of novelty keeps me going.”
The experience of playing Hong Im convinced fans that, “Sometimes the power of silence can have more impact than violent explosions.” This is a lesson that will apply to her future character choices. “Most of the characters I’ve played, whether historical figures or modern women, have been passionate in their love and hate, bold in their pursuits and struggles, and radiated an outward force,” she recalls. “But Hong Im is different. She endures daily negotiations with developers to protect her land. She quietly takes on ceremonial responsibilities to comfort her tribe.”
Looking ahead, fans will continue to value depth over spectacle. “I still want to immerse myself in a role. No matter the production, as long as the character has depth and the story has substance, I’m happy to take on the challenge,” she says. “Next year, I hope to be more involved in stories that focus on reality and female growth.”
She is currently discussing several scripts, but is not yet ready to officially announce them. “The bottom line is, there are a hundred different ways a living flower can bloom,” Huang says. “I hope that the new role I am taking on will provide a new perspective for viewers.”
For now, her attention is focused on Hong Im and the land she fights to protect. What started as preparation for a role became something more permanent. “I gained a new understanding,” says Phan about his relationship with the Earth. It was the kind of change that couldn’t be faked, and even her closest friends couldn’t recognize it.
The film stars Hwang alongside Natalie Hsu, Bai Lungying, and Pearly Chua. It is a Malaysian, Hong Kong, Italian and Saudi Arabian co-production by Janji Pictures Production, Volos Films Italia and Southern Islet Pictures. Produced by Wong Kyu-sung, Stefano Centini and Zoe Teng, the film is supported by Finas, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Finance Forum and the Red Sea Fund.
