The styling and setting for ‘Warrior Spirit’ mostly derive from Alena’s heritage and also that of the people of Borneo, mainly Sarawak
KUCHING (June 28): A music video released by Sarawakian sape songstress Alena Murang last month received recognition at the International Music Video Awards (IMVA) held in the UK recently.
At the global awards show, Alena’s ‘Warrior Spirit’ clinched the ‘Best Asia and Pacific Music Video’ and ‘Honourable Mention for Best Costume’ awards.
On the recognition, the Dayak Kelabit artiste said she felt ‘so incredibly proud’ of the whole team that had put in their time and energy towards producing the music video, as it had been a really rough period for the film and music communities.
Alena is incredibly proud of the hard work of the whole team that put in their time and energy towards producing the music video, despite the rough period for film and music communities.
“So it’s heart-warming not only for having created this music video, but also having received these international awards.
“We can do great things when we work together,” she said in a press statement yesterday.
On the music video, Alena said ‘Warrior Spirit’ meant to depict the strength of the people coming from a lineage of warriors and heroes.
“My great-great-great-grandfather Balang Nganud was a fearsome warrior – the community called him ‘The Tiger That Floats Enemies’ Heads Downriver’.
Though we no longer practise that (head-hunting) anymore, we have inherited their spirit, their courage, their strength; moreover, the courage to fight together for something greater than ourselves, and I think many Malaysians, and people across the world as well, can relate to the spirit of the warrior,” she said.
Released on YouTube on May 27 this year, the ‘Warrior Spirit’ music video was produced by the same team behind Alena’s award-winning music video ‘Midang Midang’ (2019), directed by her cousin Sarah Lois Dorai, and co-produced by Kanid Studio and Project Room.
The styling and setting for ‘Warrior Spirit’ were mostly inspired by Alena’s heritage and also that of the people of Borneo, mainly Sarawak.
With Styllar overseeing the styling aspects and Gebriel Padan in charge of make-up, the team engaged several Malaysian designers and craftswomen for the video production.
Saerah Ridzuan, who is also Alena’s stylist for many of her appearances, said the team wanted to showcase the beauty of the Bornean culture and heritage, amplified by fashion-forward aesthetics that highlighted ‘the spirit of a modern warrior’.
“I’m beyond ecstatic for the honourable mention from IMVA, and I hope the world could appreciate the beauty of Borneo through this music video,” said Saerah.
Apart from its IMVA feat this year, the ‘Warrior Spirit’ music video was also a semi-finalist for the ‘Best Film Award’ at an event held in Los Angeles, the US, and also an ‘Official Selection’ at the recent New York International Film Awards.
In this respect, Sarah Lois regarded the recognition accorded to ‘Warrior Spirit’ signified the interests in stories that Sarawakians wanted to tell from their part of the world, and from the indigenous communities as well.
“We hope that many more films highlighting the native voices would be financially supported in the future,” said the music video director.
Apart from Alena Murang’s YouTube page, stream the ‘Warrior Spirit’ track via Spotify, Apple Music, KKBox and YouTube Music.