The Journey of an International Award-Winning Malaysian Filmmaker

When it comes to notable Malaysian filmmakers, the names Yasmin Ahmad, Syafiq Yusof, and Adrian Teh usually come to mind. However, the path to becoming a director in the Malaysian film industry is always challenging. Rojak Daily spoke to aspiring full-time director Ezzah Mahmud, who recently won Best Short Documentary and Best Student Film at the Annual Aarhus Film Festival in Denmark, about pursuing the filmmaking dream.

Cinematic aspirations

“I remember watching Tarzan in 1999 at the one hall Cathay Cinema, at Penang Road when I was 6 with my family. It was pure joy and excitement and is something I look back to when I make films, imagining that the film that I make will give the audience happiness,” said Ezzah.

However, it was years before Ezzah would truly begin to have an interest in film directing while she was in secondary school. “There was a drama competition, and I quickly realised that I had a vision for it, so I volunteered to be the director. It was a great learning experience, and I learned a lot from that one project. After directing the play, I gained confidence and became comfortable sharing my visual ideas and visions.”

By directing, whether fiction or documentary, Ezzah wants to use it to invite people into her story and imagination, giving the audience a glimpse into her thought process.

The Penang-born lass decided to pursue her dream in arts and film by enrolling in a Diploma in Artistic Writing at UiTM’s Film, Theatre, and Animation Faculty. She said, “I had the best time of my life, feeling that I had finally found my calling.”

With that, Ezzah pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video at the University of South Wales, Cardiff, and later returned to Malaysia to continue making and producing documentary films. She has worked as a digital content producer, a TV programme editor, and eventually, a documentary filmmaker for Walkabout Asia.

“I decided to specialise in documentary filmmaking because I feel that at times, real life is way more interesting than fiction, stranger than fiction sometimes, and it is easier for us humans to relate to,” she explained.

Coming out on top

The 31-year-old then furthered her studies with a Master of Arts in Film Directing (Documentary) at the Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. “During that time, I deepened my knowledge and honed my skills to produce better documentary films. The film I created during that period is truly personal, and I look forward to making more documentaries that create an impact and give meaning to the audience.”

She created a personal short documentary, ‘The Weight of Silence,’ which won Best Short Documentary and Best Student Film at the Annual Aarhus Film Festival in Denmark. “I share the story of how my sister and I grew up having a severely mentally ill mother and how we navigated it as children. It is also an ode for young Ezzah, as she is somewhat okay now. This win has also directly given me the confidence to make more meaningful films that I care about.”

Watch the trailer for ‘The Weight of Silence’ here:

Putting in blood, sweat, & tears

Using a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Ezzah works on a project for months and sometimes years. “Generally, documentaries take longer to make, as sometimes, time is also its character. It usually starts with an important question, and then you elaborate and fine-tune it and go into the rabbit hole of how to tell the story,” she said.

‘The Weight of Silence’ took about a year and a half to make, including ideation, creating a shot list, archiving, filming, editing, scoring, and finally marketing it. Ezzah also went all out to get the perfect shot, wading into the river to get the perfect shot of a waterfall, all with an expensive RM7,000 camera. “The camera is so fragile, and it was scary to bring equipment near water,” she said.

Ezzah explained, “Another challenge in telling a personal story was that it opened up wounds that never really healed, which ended up being somewhat therapeutic. I want the film to create awareness and start some conversations about the stigma around the topic.”

According to her, documentary films require a lot of footage to find the ones that tell the story best. “I remember learning from my documentary film mentor, Mustafa Davis, that making a documentary is like carving an ice sculpture. The sculpture is in the ice block, you just have to carve it bit by bit, shaving it off till the sculpture is done. You need a lot of patience, and courage to tell an important story,” she elaborated.

Going full-time

For now, Ezzah works as a content creator, translator, and writer who recently published a Muslim self-help book, ‘The Art of Waiting,’ but she is optimistic that she can be a full-time director.

“It is indeed not an easy road. The documentary filmmaking industry in Malaysia has its challenges. I believe that financing a documentary film needs a lot of work," she explained.

Ezzah added, "Yes, there are grants and funding available to support your documentary filmmaking. However, I have yet to find a business model that works, that will help me survive as a documentary filmmaker, making films that I believe would be inspiring and moving, while having the aesthetics and story that are important, and at the same time have a living out of it. With the existence of Video on Demand platforms, I believe that documentary filmmakers have a better chance of getting their film out there.”

She said, “I aspire to participate in more international film festivals worldwide. I also hope to create a community of documentary filmmakers and gather like-minded people to support and celebrate the documentary filmmaking industry in Malaysia.”

Watch Ezzah’s documentaries on YouTube or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Featured Image Credit: Provided to Rojak Daily