In What City Does It Live? - Fondation Gan pour le cinéma

a film by Liew Seng Tat
In What City Does It Live?
a film by Liew Seng Tat
Technical Information
Liew Seng Tat
Working title: In What City Does It Live?
Director: Liew Seng Tat
Production Company: Da Huang Pictures Sdn Bhd
Screenplay by: Liew Seng Tat
Nationality: Malaysian
Genre: Drama
Format: HD to 35mm
Length: 100 mins
Shooting location: Malaysia
Adress: Da Huang Pictures
No 4, Jalan SS1/20A,
Kg. Tunku,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: + 603 7877 1064 / + 603 7877 3014
Fax: + 603 7877 8014
Résidence du Festival
Director Filmography
Festival de Cannes
Born in 1979 in Malaysia, Liew Seng Tat has been actively involved in the Malaysia independent
film scene, working as animator, editor, script writer, producer, actor and occasionally fluffer.
In 2004, he set up Da Huang Pictures with Tan Chui Mui, Amir Muhammad and James Lee.
His debut feature film Flower In The Pocket won numerous international awards, including the
Tiger Award (37th International Film Festival Rotterdam), the New Currents Award (12th Pusan
International Film Festival), the Le Regard d'Or (Golden Gaze) Award, 22nd Fribourg International
Film Festival and the Lino Micciche' Pesaro Nuovo Cinema Prize, 44th Pesaro Film Festival.
3, rue Amélie, F-75007 Paris
Tel. 33 (0) 1 53 59 61 20
Fax 33 (0) 1 53 59 61 24
E-mail:
[email protected]
www.festival-cannes.org
Since 2000, the Festival
Residence provides each year
accommodation and support to
twelve selected young directors
in order to help them prepare
their first or second feature film.
A jury presided by a film director
sits twice a year, selecting these
young filmmakers on the basis
of their short films, or even first
feature film, and the merits of
their feature film project.
During their 4-and-a-half-month
stay in Paris, they work on the
writing of their feature film project, have meetings with professionals and try, with the support
of the Cannes Film Festival, to
bring their project to co-production status.
Synopsis
In What City Does It Live? is a film
about a group of Malay villagers
who attempt to move an abandoned
house for a village elder named
Pak Awang, a respected man in the
village. Pak Awang's only child is
getting married and he wishes to
give her a house as a wedding gift.
The problem is that Pak Awang
can't even afford a car, much less
a house. Pak Awang realises that he
can use an unclaimed old abandoned house near the village, "rumah
Amerika" (dubbed "The White House"
– in reference to its painted white
colour). Although it is run-down and
weather-beaten, the foundation and
structure of the house is still strong.
All he needs to do is to move the
house back to the village and spend
a little money fixing and renovating
it. All the men in the village agree
to help him to relocate the house
despite rumours that it is haunted.
The men move the house by
physically carrying it back to the
village. The relocation takes a
few days because of its
weight and the distance
from the village.
Note of Intent
One day, Solomon, an African
immigrant runs into trouble with
the police and has to run away.
He accidentally ends up in the
village. While wandering around,
he finds the white house and
decides to hide inside. That night,
a villager passing by the house
notices a black shadow (Solomon)
in the house. He freaks out and
returns to the village to inform
everyone. Nobody actually sees
Solomon in person and this creates
rumours that the relocation of the
house has disturbed the spirit of an
'Orang Minyak' (Oil Man – a ghost
covered in black grease who breaks
into houses, rapes and kidnaps
virgin women) who is lurking in the
village.
This causes disruption in the village
and a bomoh (witch doctor) is called
in to help. The relocation of the
house comes to a halt. Pak Awang
tries to reason with the villagers
not to be superstitious but his efforts
fall on deaf ears. While Pak Awang
becomes more and more a stranger
to his own people for not
having the same beliefs,
Solomon is happy with
his new found 'home' and
becomes a permanent tenant
of the white house. The question
is, for how long?
The very first idea of In What City
Does It Live? is inspired by a real
story of a Malay man who gathered
men from his village to carry an
abandoned wooden Malay house
back to his house as a wedding
gift for his daughter. This peculiar
method of relocating a house
is practised in some Malay
villages in Malaysia.
Traditional Malay houses are
Synopsis
built and raised on stilts. Some are
not planted in the ground, thus
making it possible to shift them
from one place to another. This
film deals with the cohesive spirit
of the Malay community
in a kampong (village) and also
touches on the superstitious belief
of the Malays, who are in fact
staunch Muslims.
In what city does it live? est un
film sur un groupe de villageois
qui entreprennent de déplacer
une maison abandonnée, que Pak
Awang, homme âgé et respecté
souhaite offrir à sa fille unique
en cadeau de mariage. Il n'a pas
en effet les moyens de s'offrir
une voiture et encore moins une
maison. Pak Awang pense qu'il
peut récupérer cette maison qui
Note d’intention
se trouve près du village, « rumah
Amerika » (surnommée « La Maison
Blanche » en raison de la couleur
de ses murs). Bien qu'elle soit délabrée et usée par les intempéries,
cette maison a encore une charpente
et des fondations solides. Tout ce
qu’il a à faire est de la ramener
au village et de dépenser un peu
d'argent pour la réparer et la rénover.
Malgré les rumeurs qui courent
selon lesquelles elle serait hantée,
les hommes du village acceptent
tous d'aider Pak Awang à la déplacer
en la portant jusqu’au village.
Ce transfert prend plusieurs jours
en raison du poids à porter et de
la distance à parcourir.
Un jour, Solomon, un immigré originaire d'Afrique, qui fuit la police
avec laquelle il a quelques ennuis,
arrive par hasard au village.
Tout en errant, il découvre la maison
blanche et décide de s'y cacher.
Cette nuit-là, un villageois qui passait
par là aperçoit dans la maison une
ombre noire (Solomon). Il panique
et retourne au village pour prévenir
tout le monde. Et comme nul
n'a réellement vu Solomon en
personne, des rumeurs circulent
selon lesquelles le déplacement de
la maison aurait dérangé l'esprit
d'un « Orang Minyak » (ou l’Homme
Pétrole, un fantôme couvert de
cambouis qui s'introduirait dans les
maisons, violerait et kidnapperait
les vierges) qui serait caché dans
le village. C’est l’affolement général et l’on décide d’appeler un
bomoh (un sorcier). Pak Awang
essaie en vain de convaincre
les villageois, qui ont interrompu
le transfert de la maison, d'abandonner leurs superstitions.
Il devient alors un étranger pour
ses proches dont il ne partage
pas les croyances. Solomon
est quant à lui ravi de son nouveau
« foyer » et s'installe de façon
permanente dans la maison blanche.
Mais, pour combien de temps,
telle est la question?
In What City Does It Live? est inspiré
de l'histoire vraie d'un malais qui
a fait appel aux hommes de son
village pour qu'ils transportent chez
lui une maison en bois qu'il envisage
d’offrir à sa fille comme cadeau
de mariage. Ce type de déménagement correspond à une technique
particulière pratiquée dans certains
villages malais. En effet, certaines
maisons traditionnelles malaises
sont construites sur pilotis et peuvent
être déplacées d'un endroit à un
autre car elles ne sont pas plantées
dans le sol. Ce film traite de l'esprit
de cohésion de la communauté
malaise à travers la vie d'un kampong
(village). Il évoque également les
superstitions des Malais, qui sont
en réalité de fidèles musulmans.