KUCHING, Nov 28 — Tegkang, another locally-produced movie from Sarawak highlighting a softer yet colourful side of the Kelabit ethnic group, will be screened in cinemas nationwide starting today.
Shot almost entirely in the Bario highlands near the state’s northern city of Miri, the film, which is directed and written by Sarawak’s very own movie maker Josh Nawan, won the First-Time Filmmaker Showcase award in London in September.
“I started writing the script in 2010, but it took years of refining before we were ready to begin filming,” Nawan told a press conference after a media screening of the movie here yesterday.
He said the film, named after the Kelabit word for ‘rainbow’, revolves around a long-held secret guarded by a tightly-knit local community, which is unexpectedly revealed by an outsider visiting the highlands as a tourist.
Nawan added his younger years spent living in a Kayan longhouse community had inspired him to write the script. It took him and his team an arduous 40 days to shoot the actual movie.
Tegkang is Nawan’s first movie as a full-fledged director. Previously, he had worked on two movies and a television series as an assistant director.
One of the biggest challenges he faced in completing his debut movie was working with a cast of first-time actors.
“We held casting workshops to help them ease into their roles. Often, the best performances come from playing a version of yourself, and we were fortunate to find talents who fit their characters naturally,” he said.
The lead roles in the movie were played by three-time Malaysian Film Festival award-winner Shafie Naswip and local rising star Michelle Lungan who debuted in the TV film Hidden Movie.
Meanwhile, Tegkang executive producer Lyn Nashin is not ruling out producing a sequel to the movie following subtle hints throughout the film that might only become clear on a second watch.
“If people enjoy it and want more, we would love to continue the story,” she added. — Bernama
