Yasmin Ahmad

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Ahmad is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Yasmin. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yasmin Ahmad
film writer, scriptwriter
Years active1993–2009
Spouse
Tan Yew Leong
​
(m. 2003⁠–⁠2009)​
Parents
  • Ahmad Hashim (father)
  • Inom Yon (mother)

Yasmin binti Ahmad (7 January 1958 – 25 July 2009) was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia for being humorous and touching.[citation needed] Her work crossed cross-cultural barriers, particularly her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally. In Malaysia, her films were highly controversial due to their depiction of events and relationships, which have been considered 'forbidden' by social conservatives, especially hard-line interpretations of Islam.[2] She was a central figure of the "first" New Wave of Malaysian cinema.[3]

Early life

Yasmin was born in

Ogilvy & Mather and in 1993 she moved to Leo Burnett as joint creative director with Ali Mohammed, eventually rising to executive creative director at the firm's Kuala Lumpur
branch.

Career

Her first feature-length film was Rabun in 2003.

2007 Southeast Asian Games
time trial.

Death

On 23 July 2009, Yasmin suffered a stroke. According to news reports, she remained motionless, seated, she was resting her head on the table, with her hands cupping her face, while attending a meeting with local artist

TV3.[13]
Before the meeting, she spent some time with Media Prima's group creative director, Peter Chin and was reported to be in a jovial and relaxed mood.

She was rushed to the Damansara Specialist Hospital where she underwent a

haemorrhaging in the brain.[12]

On 25 July 2009, more than 48 hours after the surgery, Yasmin Ahmad succumbed to her injury and was pronounced dead at 11:25 pm.[11] The next day, Yasmin was laid to rest at the USJ 22 Muslim Cemetery in Subang Jaya, Selangor. Her husband, Abdullah Tan Yew Leong, their immediate families, hundreds of fans, friends, and industry colleagues and personalities gathered to bid her farewell.

Legacy

Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa'at wrote for the The Online Citizen not long after Yasmin's death that her movies resounded with Malay Singaporean audiences who felt represented seeing themselves in a multicultural society "underserved by a Sinocentric local media".[14]

Tributes

In 2010, one year after Yasmin's death, Kevin Bathman, a Malaysian visual artist who resides in Sydney, opened a digital art exhibition and film screening, named In Her Own Words: A Celebration of Humanity and Universal Love, as a tribute to Yasmin's life and legacy. Using Yasmin's own blog as inspiration, Kevin had blended her own words with striking visual images to create an art series as progressive as Yasmin's own thoughts. Bathman was so inspired with Yasmin's outlook on life and her inspirational body of work, that he devoted his expertise to paying tribute to one of Malaysia's visionary figures. The exhibition was launched in

Australian Centre for the Moving Image
(ACMI) in Melbourne from 2 to 6 October.

CausewayEXchange (CEX),[15] an inter-Asia art exchange programme has also worked closely with Yasmin's sister Orked Ahmad on their past installations in Singapore. In 2010 CEX showcased a Poster Exhibition entitled "in Her Words" by Kevin Bathman as well as a 120-minute screening of a compilation of all advertisements produced by Yasmin Ahmad. This was followed by a talk by Orked. In 2012, CEX showcased Yasmin's first telemovie and one of her earlier works, Rabun. In conjunction with the screening, CEX and Orked Yasmin launched a book entitled "Yasmin, How you know?" in Singapore. Both the movie screening and the books were immediately sold out.

On 7 January 2014, Google paid tribute to Yasmin by publishing a Doodle bearing her image. This was the first time a Malaysian figure was honoured on its search engine.[16]

In October 2014, a commemorative museum, named Yasmin at Kong Heng, opened in Ipoh, Malaysia. It features Yasmin's photography, filmography, as well as creations dedicated to her by other artists. There are plans to create an augmented reality series for the museum, using the city's landmarks where Yasmin shot her films.[17]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Original title Director Producer Writer Notes
2003 My Failing Eyesight Rabun Yes No Yes
2004 Slit Eyes Sepet Yes No Yes
2006 Anxiety Gubra Yes No Yes
2007 Mukhsin Yes No Yes
2008 The Convert Muallaf Yes No Yes
2009 Talentime Yes No Yes

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Min Teacher
2004 15 Puasa Telemovie
2006 Rain Dogs
2008 Here in My Home Video short
2008 Susuk Nurse Cameo
2009 At the End of Daybreak

Commercials and short films

  • Petronas TV Commercial (for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali & National Day)
  • Yuzy (2000) Petronas Road Safety Campaign
  • Vas Dentures (2000) Celcom
  • The Amber Sexalogy (2006)
  • Tan Hong Ming in Love (2007) Petronas Merdeka Day commercial
  • Family (2008) for the Singaporean Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
  • Funeral (2009) for the Singaporean Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
  • Chocolate (2009) for 15Malaysia (released posthumously 19 Aug 2009)[18]

Awards and nominations

Malaysia Video Awards

  • 1999: for Best Director – Forgiving Petronas commercial[19]
  • 2000: Silver Award for Best Scriptwriting - Yuzy Petronas Road Safety Campaign
  • 2000: Bronze Award for Best Scriptwriting - Vas Dentures for Celcom

Malaysia Film Festival

  • 2005: Most Original Story and Best Film - Sepet[20]
  • 2006: Best Screenplay and Best Film - Gubra[21]
  • 2009: for Best Director - 'Talentime[22]

Other awards

  • Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia's Golden Kancil Award for Best Advertising Agency (1999/2000)[23][24]
  • Berlin International Film Festival International Jury of Generation Kplus – Grand Prix of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk for Best Feature Film and Generation Kplus Children's Jury Awards – Special Mention (2007) for Mukhsin[25]
  • 54th
    Asia Pacific Film Festival Best Director (2010) for Muallaf (The Convert)[26]
  • 18th Tokyo International Film Festival Best Asian Film Award (2005) for Sepet[27]
  • Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2008 Gold Winner for Petronas advertisement Tan Hong Ming in Love[28][29]

References

  1. ^ "Mukshin" (PDF). The Berlinale. 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  2. ^ Malaysian filmmaker struggles with hardline Islam.
  3. ^ "SHARIFAH AMANI――Time with Yasmin Ahmad and the New Wave in Malaysian Film | Features". Japan Foundation - WA Project (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  4. ^ Harben, Ayesha (25 April 1993). "New apples in the Burnett barrel". New Straits Times. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  5. ^ Bergan, Ronald (12 August 2009). "Obituary : Yasmin Ahmad". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Yasmin Ahmad". AdAsia. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  7. ^ Ahmad, Yasmin (9 November 2008). "the storyteller: Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing – then a work of art may happen". Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Berlin Film Festival: Nazi & Cold War Flops + Risqué Marianne Faithfull".
  9. ^ "Going To Tokyo: Interview With MUKHSIN Director Yasmin Ahmad". Tokyo International Film Festival. 24 October 2006. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  10. hdl:10125/7236
    .
  11. ^ a b "Yasmin Ahmad dies". The Star/Asia News Network. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  12. ^ a b "Filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad critical but stable after surgery". The Malaysian Insider. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  13. ^ a b Rizal Johan (24 July 2009). "Director Yasmin suffers a stroke, stable after brain surgery". Star Publications (M) Bhd. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  14. ^ Alfian Sa'at (31 July 2009). "Why Yasmin Ahmad was so important to me". The Online Citizen.
  15. ^ "CausewayEXchange".
  16. ^ Predeep Nambiar (7 January 2014). "Google's doodle remembers Yasmin Ahmad". New Straits Times. The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
  17. ^ Kumaran, Loghun (18 October 2014). "Yasmin Ahmad's legacy celebrated in eponymous Ipoh museum". The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Chocolate". 15MALAYSIA. 15malaysia.com. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  19. ^ "All Our Lives wins gold award". New Straits Times. 29 May 1999. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  20. ^ Mumtaj Begum (19 July 2005). "Sepet scores big at Malaysian Film Festival". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  21. ^ Mumtaj Begum (14 August 2006). "Yasmin makes it two in a row". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  22. ^ "Yasmin named best director for Talentime". The Star (Malaysia). 9 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  23. ^ Sumitha Martin (22 October 2000). "Leo Burnett bags top ad award". New Straits Times.
  24. ^ Sam Cheong (23 October 2000). "Leo Burnett bags golden award". Malay Mail.
  25. ^ Soares, Andres (February 2007). "Berlin Film Festival Awards: Chinese Drama Tops". Alt Film Guide. Alt Film Guide. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  26. ^ "Taiwanese films win awards at Film Fest". AsiaOne News. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. 5 December 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  27. ^ 18th Tokyo International Film Festival Best Asian Film Award (2005) Sepet
  28. ^ "Petronas – Tan Hong Ming (Cannes Lions 2008) Gold Winner". Skyexits blogspot profile. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  29. ^ Harmandar Singh (22 June 2008). "A toast to world-class work". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 29 July 2009.

External links

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