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Malaysian New Wave

Years active	1981 to present
Location	Malaysia
Major figures	Amir Muhammad, Yasmin Ahmad, Rahim Razali, Shuhaimi Baba, Mansor Puteh, U-Wei Haji Saari, Hishamuddin Rais, Teck Tan, James Lee
Influences	Classical Malaysian cinema, Auteur theory, French New Wave, Taiwan New Wave, P. Ramlee

The Malaysian New Wave (Malay: Gelombang Baharu), or informally referred to as the little cinema, is a Malaysian art film movement that began in the early-1980s. The movement was characterised by its challenge towards sensitive social themes through experimentation similar to those of the Nouvelle Vague. Filmmakers in this movement often rejected the traditional elements portrayed in mainstream filmography, and opted to tackle on contemporary issues in Malaysia, such as racial divide, Ketuanan Melayu, religious conservatism, politics, and social inequality. Due to the taboo nature of these topics in Malaysian society, some films associated with the movement were either banned or censored by the government.

The term was first used to describe a group of Malay filmmakers in the early-1980s that attempted to break the traditional themes of Malaysian cinema through realistic storytelling and raw descriptions of social conditions. These filmmakers rejected the elements portrayed in classical Malaysian cinema of the 1950s and 1960s, which emphasised optimism in a newly-independent post-colonial society. This was evident in Rahim Razali's 1981 melodrama Abang, which was often credited as the first true modernist film in Malaysian cinema. By the late-1990s, the emergence of a second generation of independent directors, such as Amir Muhammad, Osman Ali, Santosh Kesavan, Yasmin Ahmad and Teck Tan represented a significant turn into a culturally and ethnically diverse movement.

Filmmakers in the Malaysian New Wave extensively employed the use of cheaper and portable equipment, especially digital video. Movies were shot with multiple languages, reflective of Malaysia's diverse demographics. The combination of realistic shooting techniques and noveau social topics made film, for the first time in the country, a medium of social commentary and channel of criticism towards Malaysian society and politics.

Background

See also: Cinema of Malaysia

Traditional Malay filmmaking

Main article: Golden Age of Malay Cinema

The earliest forms of films in British Malaya were an extension of traditional operas, which were drawn from classical plays and epics. The epic historical drama Leila Majnun (1933), often described as the first Malay-language film, was shot with Malay actors from bangsawan operas. Even though the demographics in Malaya was ethnically diverse, the cinema industry was dominated entirely by Malay films, with non-Malays playing as extras or comedic reliefs. As the first directors based in Malaya were Indian nationals, early Malay cinema resembled Indian films, prioritising "melodrama, overacting, dance, and songs", which appealed to all audiences regardless of ethnic boundaries.

This situation remain unchanged during the postwar period after 1948, which witnessed a progressive shift of its theme into social-cultural commentaries of the newly independent Malayan state. This shift highlighted the cultural plurality among the Malays, providing an alternative narrative for the previously perceived monolithic culture at the time. With the rise of highly influential filmmakers such as P. Ramlee, Hussain Haniff, and M. Amin, Malay cinema entered a golden age between the mid-1950s to late-1960s. Despite this, classical Malaysian cinema remained confined to the Malay perspective well until the 1970s. Two exceptions of this rule came from P. Ramlee's later films, After Dawn (1967) and Drizzle (1968), which portrayed inter-racial romantic relationships and cultural diversity as its main subject, a rarely discussed topic especially after the outbreak of the 13 May incident shortly after.

Example works

Notable directors

• Amir Muhammad
• Deepak Kumaran Menon
• Ho Yu Hang
• James Lee
• Mansor Puteh
• Rahim Razali
• Santosh Kesavan
• Shanmugham Karuppannan
• Shuhaimi Baba
• Tan Chui Mui
• Teck Tan
• U-Wei Haji Saari
• Yasmin Ahmad

Notable works

• Abang (1981)
• Sepet (2004)
• The Last Communist (2005)
• Tiger Stripes (2023)
• Abang Adik (2023)

Golden Age of Malaysian Cinema

http://web.usm.my/km/36(1)2018/km36012018_1.pdf