Big leap forward for local film-maker

SARAWAK-BORN Mohamad Syafiq Harzmi took a big leap forward as a film-maker by winning the I-Care About Sarawak Video Competition with his short film on patriotism titled ‘Keyboard Warrior’.

After scooping the award and RM3,000, Syafiq, an independent film director, turned his sights on the local film-making industry, aiming to promote it to the world.

The 26-year-old ventured into filmmaking to show Sarawak has latent cinematographic potential waiting to be tapped. And his quest was given a big boost by the I-Care Award.

‘Keyboard Warrior’ — his fourth short film — was shot in 2015. Back then, Syafiq thought he needed something to prove he could make videos and films. And he went on to deliver.

The film portrayed a man who was not proud of his homeland — in this instance Sarawak — and spoke ill of it on social media. Then one night, the man had in a dream in which he was crying and feeling sorry for what he had done.

“The message of the film is love your homeland and do not become a keyboard warrior,” Syafiq explained.

Although busy making films, he did not pass over any opportunity to participate in film-making workshops. He attended many including one from Aiffa (Asean Film Festival and Awards) on how to make a good film with a good team by leading Malaysian director Shuhaimi Baba.

Syafiq concurred that to make a good film, a good crew is a must.

“However, while team work is the key, following through with the ideas you have is also important,” he pointed out.

Memorable events

Aiffa 2015 and 2017 were memorable for Syafiq as he won third place in both competitions.

His short film, ‘Passionately Sarawak’, for Aiffa 2015 chronicled how a visitor fell in love with the heritage and culture of Sarawak while his entry, ‘Senses of My Fairland’, for the 2017 edition paid tribute to the exquisite nature of the state.

In 2015, another of his short films, ‘Bersusey’, won the Best Cinematography Award at the Bernama Film Festival. He described the film as one of the “longest short films” he had ever made.

“Bersusey means folktale. It’s about an old man telling kids the story of how to get along and live with people and be friendly with everyone. Actually, this story is passed down from generation to generation. There are some who consider it mythical.”

Syafiq started out as a wedding photographer. At that time, film-making was not something he did for a living. Then things changed in 2013 when a friend asked Syafiq to help him make a video.

“It was my first assignment. After that, I realised film-making is my thing. So I decided to follow my heart.”

Studying mass com

The passion for visual arts at a young age prompted Syafiq to study mass communications.

In 2010, he enrolled at Limkokwing Borneo’s Faculty of Communication, Media and Broadcasting (FCMB) for a course on communicating and interacting with people.

“I learned the best ways to communicate verbally and non-verbally — and also the psychology behind structuring the right messages for effective communication. The course equips us with communication skills which are crucial to just about any industry.

“In fact, mass communication graduates are not restricted to only media-related fields but can explore other areas as well. Moreover, mass communication provides a wide range of job opportunities, including film-making,” he noted.

For Syafiq though, film-making is not just about making a video and showing it to viewers but also a way for film-makers to express themselves and “turn imagination into reality”.

According to him, the biggest challenge is that the Malaysian government is “not quite supportive of this kind of industry”. He has sent them his proposals but has had no response so far.

“I need their support for my new channel — Bersusey TV,” he said.

Freelance company

After graduating in 2014, Syafiq joined TV Sarawak as a videographer. But since his dream was still to be a film director, he decided to set up his own freelance production company called Taktikkotordotcom in 2011.

“The word taktikkotor comes from the way I edit photos and videos to make them presentable. Because my tactics include Photoshop, I decided to call my company Taktikkotordotcom or ‘dirty tactics’ if you like.”

He said setting up his own production company gave him the creative freedom to venture into filmmaking and allowed him to contribute to the industry by making job opportunities available to fresh graduates in particular.

In the past two years, Syafiq had been actively involved in short-film competitions.

In 2016, his production company came third in The City of Unity Short Film Contest, organised by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak. He also produced videos for Azam Sarawak, Maybank (Jom Heboh Highlight 2013), Manoy, Eid Runway Trend Show 2017 and HIV Awareness @ Plaza Merdeka 2013, among others.

This year, Syafiq’s venture with National Film Development Corporation (Finas) through the agency’s micro-funding programme, resulted in the production of a short film, ‘Anak Cina’, by his company.

He said it’s loosely based on his own life story.

He plans to build his own creative company because he believes Kuching needs one. He also aspires to direct his own full-length movies.

“I hope more people will get to know about my work so that I build my trust in them.”

Syafiq describes himself as a film director who is ambitious and loves to experiment with different genres of films.

“I see myself as Michael Bay. Although my films are not as good as his yet, I always convince myself to be like him. I have dreamt of bringing my films to the big screen. I will strive to tell better stories for audiences.”

Movie fans can expect a new feature film from him in the next few years.

On film-making in Sarawak, Syafiq said it had enormous potential to go global.

“There are a number of film-makers here but very few opportunities for them to show their talents. We need the support of the relevant bodies, including especially the state government, to move further afield in our craft. In this way, we can also help groom talents to bring local film-making standards to a higher level.”

Syafiq advised aspiring film-makers to be creative and perseverant. He continues to  uphold his mantra — No success without a force behind it.

Apart from making films, he loves to play musical instruments such as guitar and conga, and sings as well.