Amir Muhammad (director)

Last updated

Amir Muhammad
Born (1972-12-05) 5 December 1972 (age 52)
Alma mater University of East Anglia
Website Writing by Amir

Amir Muhammad (born 5 December 1972) is a Malaysian writer and independent filmmaker.

Contents

Life and career

He was born on 5 December 1972 in Kuala Lumpur to civil servant Muhammad Abdullah and housewife Asiah Kechik. He was educated at the University of East Anglia with a degree in Law, though he never did his bar but rather worked in his sponsoring company's legal company for nine months. [1]

He had also written for Malaysian print media since the age of 14, notably the New Straits Times, where he had worked there as a part timer under several editors. He had a dedicated column there from 1995 until it was stopped in 1999 [1] during the general elections as the column was considered to be "unhelpful to the government in its bid to win the elections." [2]

Amir took up filmmaking on the encouragement of film director U-Wei Haji Saari after interviewing the latter during his part-time job as the latter's film Perempuan, Isteri Dan...? was released in 1993. [2] In 2000, he wrote and directed Malaysia's first DV feature. Some of his works have also been featured in a number of international film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. Two of his films, Apa Khabar Orang Kampung and The Last Communist have been banned in Malaysia. A full retrospective of his work was screened at the 2008 Pesaro Film Festival, Italy. He is a partner at Da Huang Pictures.

He also publishes books under his companies Matahari Books (started in 2007) [3] and Buku FIXI (since 2011), [4] taking a break from film-making during this time period. [5]

Filmography

Films

Short films

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdullah Abdul Kadir</span> Malay author, translator and teacher (1796-1854)

Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer. The term Munshi means "teacher" or "educator". He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, a part of the Ottoman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batek people</span> Group of Malaysian indigenous people

The Batek people are an indigenous Orang Asli people ; belonging to the Semang group, who live in the rainforest of peninsular Malaysia. As a result of encroachment, they now primarily inhabit the Taman Negara National Park. The Batek are nomadic hunters and gatherers, so the exact location of their settlements change within the general confines of the area that they inhabit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalat, Sarawak</span> Town and district capital in Sarawak, Malaysia

Dalat is the administrative town of the Dalat district in Mukah Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is situated by the Oya River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Besut District</span> District of Malaysia in Terengganu

Besut is a district in the Terengganu federal state of Malaysia. It is bordered by the state of Kelantan to the north and west and the South China Sea to the east. It is the northern gateway to Terengganu. Kota Putera is the district capital, though Jertih is more developed. Another major town is the fishing port of Kuala Besut. There are other small towns such as Tembila, Jabi, and Pasir Akar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mah Meri people</span> Ethnic group

The Mah Meri are an ethnic group native to western part of Peninsular Malaysia. They are one of the 18 Orang Asli groups named by the Malaysian government. They are of the Senoi subgroup. Most of the members of the Mah Meri tribe live along the coast of South Selangor from Sungai Pelek up to Pulau Carey, although there is at least one Mah Meri Community on the other side of the Klang River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesian literature</span>

Indonesian literature is a term grouping various genres of South-East Asian literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Hadi Awang</span> Malaysian politician

Abdul Hadi bin Awang is a Malaysian politician and religious teacher who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Marang since October 1990, 7th President of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), an Islamist political party and a component party of Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, since July 2002. He served as Leader of the Opposition from July 2002 to March 2004, Menteri Besar of Terengganu from December 1999 to March 2004 and Member of the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Ru Rendang from 1986 until 2018. At the international level, he formerly served as vice-president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramli Ngah Talib</span> Malaysian politician

Ramli bin Ngah Talib is a Malaysian politician who was active in the United Malays National Organisation. He served as the 8th Menteri Besar of Perak from 1982 to 1999 and was the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat of the Malaysian Parliament from 2004 to 2008.

Uthaya Sankar SB is a Malaysian writer who writes in Bahasa Malaysia.

Liew Seng Tat is a Malaysian filmmaker based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Matahari Books is a Malaysian publishing company founded in 2007 by Amir Muhammad. It specialises in Malaysian non-fiction and also screenplay books. It publishes books in both English and Malay.

Danny Lim is a Malaysian writer, journalist and photographer.

<i>Apa Khabar Orang Kampung</i> 2007 Malaysian film

Apa Khabar Orang Kampung is a 2007 Malaysian documentary by Amir Muhammad. It was produced by Da Huang Pictures. Like its predecessor The Last Communist, it was banned in its home country but screened in several international film festivals. It premiered at the Berlinale in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysian literature</span>

Malaysian literature consists of literature produced in the Malay Peninsula until 1963 and in Malaysia thereafter. Malaysian literature is typically written in any of the country's four main languages: Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil. It portrays various aspects of Malaysian life and comprises an important part of the culture of Malaysia.

Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan was a Malay literary work of Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir. It was first published in 1838 in Singapore, and considered as the first Malay literary text being published commercially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slamet Rahardjo</span> Indonesian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1949)

Slamet Rahardjo Djarot is an Indonesian actor, director, and screenwriter of Javanese-Bantenese descent. He is the elder brother of director, songwriter, and politician, Eros Djarot. Since his directorial debut in 1979 with Rembulan dan Matahari, he has directed and/or written twelve films; one of which, Langitku, Rumahku, was Indonesia's submission to the 63rd Academy Awards in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysians of Indonesian descent</span> Malaysian citizen of Indonesian descent

The Indonesian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indonesian ancestry. Today, there are many Malaysian Malays who have lineage from the Indonesian archipelago and have played an important role in the history and contributed to the development of Malaysia, they have been assimilated with other Malay communities and are grouped as part of the foreign Malays or anak dagang in terms of race. The Malaysian census does not categorize ethnic groups from the Indonesian archipelago as a separate ethnic group, but rather as Malay or Bumiputera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jah Hut people</span> Ethnic group of Malaysia

Jah Hut people are one of the Orang Asli tribes living in Pahang, Malaysia. As of 2000, the population of the Jah Hut people are 2,442 and by 2005, it is estimated that there are approximately 4,000 people living in 11 kampungs (villages) that are located along the west bank of the Pahang River from the north in Jerantut to the south in Temerloh, Pahang.

Buku FIXI is a Malaysian independent publisher founded in 2011 by filmmaker Amir Muhammad. The company specializes not only in contemporary urban fiction - both in Malay and English - but also Malay translations of foreign titles, and graphic novels. Some of these novels have also been adapted into films, bringing the publisher's name further into the Malaysian mainstream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman</span> Historical Malay Kingdom on the Malay Peninsula (1780–1899)

The Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman was a historical Malay Kingdom located in the northeastern coast of the Malay Peninsula, precursor of the present-day Besut District and most of Setiu, Terengganu. A principality of Terengganu, the state was established in 1780 following the crowning of a Terengganuan prince, Tengku Kadir as the Raja Palembang Besut. The House of Palembang, a cadet branch of Terengganu nobility continued to rule the territory before it was unified with Terengganu in 1899.

References

  1. 1 2 McKay, Benjamin (13 October 2005). "A Conversation with Amir Muhammad". Criticine. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 Bissme S. (30 June 2005). "A rebel with a cause". The Sun. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2017 via BissmeTheSun.
  3. Tan May Lee (9 October 2010). "Catching up with Amir Muhammad". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011.
  4. Ling (5 August 2014). "Fixi Forward". Poskod Malaysia. PopDigital Sdn Bhd. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  5. "Hitting the books" in The Star (Malaysia) - 8 April 2009
  6. "Freedom Film Fest 2016 | Kisah Pelayaran ke Terengganu". freedomfilmfest.komas.org. FreedomFilmFest. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.