Local movie Pendatang, which was entirely crowdfunded, has been released on YouTube and has garnered 100,000 views as at 3pm on Friday (Dec 22), a mere 17 hours after it premiered.
The movie, which drew rave reviews, is by Kuman Pictures and is set in a dystopian Malaysia where races are forbidden to mix. It is about a Chinese family who find a Malay girl hiding in their new house.
Most of the comments on the movie pointed out how racism is highlighted in the film and how Malaysian society should have a greater understanding of the issue.
The movie’s director, Ng Ken Kin, said the movie would not have been approved for cinematic release locally, which was why it was made available on YouTube and available for viewing by anyone with an Internet connection.
The plot of the Cantonese-language movie involves a Chinese-Malaysian family who is ordered to relocate to a wooden house previously owned by Malays in a rural area after a traffic offence.
The Kuman Pictures production collected some RM300,000 to make the movie instead of traditionally sourcing for funders.
The producers explained that they chose to screen the movie on YouTube as the film would have never passed screening for national cinematic release by the Film Censorship Board (LPF).