Directors of Ikal Mayang
“Female directors telling women’s stories” is a straightforward concept, yet the fruit of Ikal Mayang is something far more layered and complex. With an ambitious 15 short films in the series, Ikal Mayang’s diverse collective serves as an intricate exploration of the female experience in a Malaysian setting.
Ikal Mayang in the Malay language means long, wavy black hair and refers to the idiom: ‘Rambut sama hitam, hati lain-lain’. Our hair may be the same shade of black, but our hearts hold different stories.
Ikal Mayang poster
Because of the usual lack of female representation in the local film and TV industry, it’s refreshing to see that women were involved in all stages of Ikal Mayang’s conception. The directors were handpicked by Low Ngai Yuen and Lee Su May of Garang Pictures, along with creative director of Big Eyes Entertainment Ida Nerina. Among the chosen were women in the industry who have worked on both sides of the camera. There is criticism over the fact that most of the women chosen were actresses and not directors themselves but the purpose of this project is for women to tell women’s stories; and there are a few notable directorial debuts here to look out for.
Ikal Mayang follows this year’s International Women’s Day theme “The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum” with the aim to increase female representation in the media as well as to challenge the way women are portrayed in the mainstream. These short films touch on various themes: love, sexuality, body image, female relationships and women’s health.
(An excerpt from Kakiseni blog. For full article, click here.)
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