Ho (left) seen in a production still from Edge of the World. The Hong Kong actress and producer will be headlining the opening night of MIFFest. – Photo courtesy of Rob Allyn
KUCHING (July 4): ‘Edge of the World’, the Hollywood feature film on the first White Rajah of Sarawak Sir James Brooke has been selected as the opening film of the 5th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest).
Its producer Rob Allyn said Hong Kong actress Josie Ho, who plays Chinese leader Madame Lim in the film, will headline the opening night of the festival on July 10 at Dadi Cinema, Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur.
“Josie, who is also a producer of our film, will be joined by her husband and Edge of the World producer Conroy Chan along with our director Michael Haussman.
“Michael recently won Best Director at the Septimius Awards for Edge of the World in Amsterdam, where the movie also was nominated as Best American Film,” he told The Borneo Post.
Allyn said Edge of the World was selected for this honour to open MIFFest as a result of Ho’s meeting with her friend and MIFFest chairperson Joanne Goh at a film festival in Europe.
“This is a great example of two powerhouse women of film making dreams come true.
“We are delighted that Josie and Joanne have made it possible to hold the red carpet Asian premiere of Edge of the World in the country where this film was made, so that we can celebrate with our partners in Sarawak and Malaysia,” he said.
Other special guests who will be attending the opening night of MIFFest include Malaysian actors Bront Palarae and Shahezy Sam who play Brooke’s principal rival for power Pengiran Indera Mahkota and Subu, Brooke’s long-time Malay clerk and companion respectively, as well as top leaders from the Sarawak government and Sarawak Tourism Board who were partners in the film.
Written by Allyn, Edge of the World stars award-winning Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, known for his role as King Henry VIII in ‘The Tudors’, as Brooke and Dominic Monaghan as Colonel Arthur Crookshank, Brooke’s cousin and comrade-in-arms.
The film, which has been described by Allyn as a “big, swashbuckling romantic adventure” film, tells the story of Brooke’s voyage of discovery to Sarawak in the 1800s where he ultimately became the first White Rajah of Sarawak.
Allyn said despite the global Covid-19 pandemic, Edge of the World has been very successfully released by prestigious distributor The Samuel Goldwyn Company last June to widespread acclaim, including recent awards and festivals in Europe and globally.
“We’ve also released the film in many countries in Europe and around the world.
“Now that audiences have begun to return to cinemas in Malaysia and across the region, we look forward to successfully releasing the film in the coming year in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia, where there is such high interest in the film’s fascinating subject, its authentic setting and its international stars,” he said.
The 5th MIFFest will be held from July 10 to 15 at Dadi Cinema where a line-up of renowned films will be screened at the festival.