The Storytellers: In-depth Interviews with Malaysian Documentary Filmmakers

The study is based on a series of interviews conducted with the Malaysian documentary filmmakers Lau Kek-Huat, Amir Muhammad, Fahmi Reza, Harun Rahman, and Lara Ariffin between 2018 and 2021. The interviews aimed to probe into the documentary filmmaking process and investigate the underlying factors that motivate filmmakers to compose films about the Malaysian pre- and post-independence period. In the documentary, the filmmakers took the audience on a nostalgic and self-discovery journey. The documentary focused on people’s history, often overlooked in official history material. The storyteller’s role is to preserve the narrative and emphasize the value of people’s history in bridging the gaps within the nation’s history. Films have become an important source of meaning, contestation, and negotiation by providing an alternative history to their audience. The documentary probes the question of what it truly means to be Malaysian. The study utilizes the concept of the mediation of memory to comprehend the complex interaction between cultural memory and identity. The study employed thematic analysis as a systematic approach to examine interview data. The study explores cultural memory dimensions, focusing on film production, memory, and identity. The interviews revealed that the filmmaker’s role as a storyteller is critical for preserving and highlighting people’s history, as well as educating the audience, particularly Malaysia’s younger generation, to ensure that history is not lost and forgotten.