Fat Bidin Media

Have you heard of APOSTROPHE? Its a yearly art project organised and sponsored by DiGi. Its been going on for two years now (the first focused on literature while the second was on photography). This year is the third installment and it will focus on filmmaking. I’ve been asked to be one of the mentors (the others are Azharr Rudin, Woo Ming Jin, Tan Chui Mui and Mussadique Suleiman). There was an article in The Star recently which you can read.

Recognising how my blog has such a massive cult following, the organisers kindly asked me if I could help promote the project. And being the humble superstar celebrity that I am, I obliged.

Basically, its a competition where all you need to do is to produce a film between 90sec and 160sec based on the theme ‘makan’. Winners will win prizes and a trip to some obscure country, I think. Just go visit the website at Apostrophegallery.com for more information. Once there, you’ll also get to see the works of the mentors which were done specifically for the project.

I cheated though… I cut out a short scene from my film ‘I’m Muslim Too!’ which I thought fit the ‘makan’ theme and could stand alone. The video above is of the original scene from my film. For the purpose of the Apostrophe project, I did make a slight adjustment (I’m not that much of a cheat!). So if you want to watch that version, check out the website, yeah?

(The 2008 General Election heat is still pretty intense. I have so much documented on video which would be great to release online right now, but I think I should hold on as the main purpose is to complete the feature length film, ‘I May Be Malaysian, But I Carry A Big Stick’, and not to have a newsflash blog. Woo!! Suspense wohh!!! Can’t wait for the film huh? Well… there’s still a little bit of shooting to do and then editing. So just hang on.)

For those who came… I would like to thank you (it was almost a full house! wahh!!). And also… to apologise for what happened to the projector midway through the film. Hence, there will be a re-screening. Details as posted by Kelab Seni Filem below…..

It ought not to have happened, but it did.
The screening of Zan Azlee’s I’m Muslim Too! on Tues 19 Feb was stopped halfway through coz the projector packed up.
Kelab Seni Filem apologises to the almost full house in attendance.
However the lively Q&A with Zan helped to make up for the disappointment.
The good news is that Kelab is re-screening it on Monday 3 March at 8pm.
Admission is still FREE.
And Zan will be present to do the Q&A again.
Amir Muhammad will be introducing the film and moderating the Q&A session.
Monday 3 March, 8.00pm
HELP University College Theatrette, Pusat Bandar Damansara, KL
S P R E A D T H E W O R D

So come lah! The discussion we had after the projector broke down was great! And that was after everyone watched slightly less than half of the film. I would love to hear your feedback and (try to evade!) questions once you’ve seen the whole film.

For those of you who couldn’t make it the first time… here’s your chance! (no more excuses! muahaha!!!). Thank you all for the support.

Hey people! One night only… so come and catch it!

Enough about Seng Tat’s winnings (that bugger is making me look bad!) and back to my film.

The video above features Mustafa Mohe, an Iraqi refugee who now lives in Syria with his beautiful wife (feeewiiit!!). I bumped into him while searching for Hezbollah’s computer game, Special Force.

Don’t you just wish you could watch my film? Be patient… I can feel a special screening of ‘I’m Muslim Too!’ in the near future…

Here’s Ali Azhari, lead guitarist and producer of Arsames. He lives in Tehran and not in Mashhad with the rest of the band. Aside from playing music, he’s also a TV and film director.

I have finally finished editing ‘I’m Muslim Too!’. The first cut was a freaking 2hours 10minutes long torture-struggle fest! I cut it down to 90minutes… showed it to the Outphace gang (sarcastic mofos!) and got some valuable comments… and now the final cut is 73minutes.

Aggressive hawking of the film to broadcasters and distributors shall now go on full force! (Sponsors and funders are still welcome! Muahaha!)

Check out the video. It’s Ali Sanaei, the bassist of Arsames who can only speak English by impersonating Robert De Niro. Quite a funny guy… and pretty good on the instrument too! I’m glad he’s in my film.

I’ve been working hard on ‘I’m Muslim Too!’. Not just on editing (damn its going slow!), but on trying to get it distributed and screened. The good news is that I’ve met with a couple of broadcasters and it looks promising. Now if I can just sit my butt down to finish the editing!

On another note, I’m heading down to JB next week for the FSI Education Fair to give a talk on documentary filmmaking. Why the hell would they want to listen to me? I dunno!! But hey, if you’re free and you’re down south, just pop by the Puteri Pacific Hotel. I’ll be hanging out at the HELP University-College booth. Come and say hi and I might just say hi back to you! And if you pay me RM5, I’ll even give you my autograph!

Off The Edge (that artsy fartsy magazine!) talks about documentary filmmaking in the Nov 2007 issue, and I was one of the interviewees. Being the publicity freak that I am, I just had to plug my new film, ‘I’m Muslim Too!’. Haha! They don’t call me Mat Pub for nothing! (Click on the pics to read the article.)

I wrote two articles based on my filmmaking trip to the Middle-East for Surf! magazine (click on the pics to read). Go check out the latest issue at all major newstands and bookstores!

I’m a writer too! Soooo talented lah! Hahaha!

One of the main features in my film ‘I’m Muslim Too!’ is the band ARSAMES. They are the most awesome metal band in Iran. I flew in to Mashhad (a city near the Afghanistan border) from Tehran and went straight to Ali Madarshahi’s (the drummer) house and was treated to an exclusive live performance. To listen to more of their music, check out their MySpace page.

Editing has begun on ‘I’m Muslim Too!’. This is the first video blog entry documenting the production. By the way, I’m still looking for funding. Got some money to give?

I’ve finally started editing ‘I’m Muslim Too!’. Give me a break… I’ve been catching up with work ever since I got back from the Middle East. A guy has got to eat! And so what if a little procrastination gets thrown in as well? Haha!

All jokes aside, I have been busy. I’ll be shooting an Internet video series for a new travel portal soon and pre-production has been taking up some time (watch out for it when it comes out… it’ll be pukka!). Also, adding the final touches of the making of video of ASTRO SHAW’s movie ‘Tipu Kanan Tipu Kiri’ has got me going to bed in the wee hours of the morning. Add a couple of lecture hours a week into the fray and Zan is a pretty burnt out boy!

Although editing of ‘I’m Muslim Too!’ has been slow, I have been working hard on trying to sell it. I met up with a local broadcaster recently and they’re interested in looking at a rough cut once it’s done. Another meeting with another broadcaster is also on the schedule. So finger’s crossed!

(No video blog entry on the film yet. But one will be posted very soon! I promise!)

Made it to the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts after lots of trouble getting my press pass. Getting the pass wasn’t any trouble. It was trying to get to the organisers’ office that gave me a headache! I went to three different places in Amman and wasted nearly RM70 on taxi fare till I finally got to the right place.

The festival is set in the Roman ruins of the ancient city of Jerash in the north of Jordan. Very beautiful actually.

This dude (above) I met at the festival and I’m putting him in my film. His name is Ghassan Ayasreh and he’s an artist. He spent three years of his life building a model of the Dome of the Rock out of olive seeds. Time well spent!

Here’s another dude I met at the festival and I’m putting him in my film too. Mohamed Salameh is a photographer who likes to keep all of his wives under the same roof!

And now I’m done with my journey. I’m back in Damascus ready to catch my flight home to Malaysia. Once I arrive home, it’ll be time to start on the editing of ‘I’m Muslim Too!’. Also, there’ll be more updates here in video form! So you can start sweating in anticipation now!

And in Jordan too, of course!

I’m in Amman, Jordan. Main reason… to attend the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts for my film. But before I sorted out my press pass, I did a little sightseeing. And boy… everything in the Middle-East reminds you of God! It still didn’t make me feel guilty about watching porn on Arabic satellite TV in the hotel, though! Haha!

First religious site… the place where John The Baptist baptised Jesus. For the ultra-conservative Malay dudes and dudettes who might think I’m going the Lina Joy way… don’t worry… I’m not! I’ll rephrase… the place where Yahya baptised Isa. Ok?

The baptism site is by the River Jordan and it’s the border of Jordan and Israel. Because it’s a highly sensitive zone, we were only allowed to go there with a guide. Notice the Israel flag behind me in the picture? It’s only a few feet away… but I’m now claiming to have been to Israel! Muahaha!

Then I went to Mount Nebo, the place where Moses (oops! sorry ultra-conservative Malay dudes and dudettes! I meant Musa!), according to the Bible, apparently ascended to heaven. But of course the Quran has a different story.

I then floated in the Dead Sea. When I was in STAR, Ipoh (my secondary all-boys boarding school), the ustaz use to tell stories of Lut and his homosexual homies. God got angry because of their hanky panky and so He flooded their land… thus the Dead Sea (now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn’t have gone in for a dip! yucks! no wonder everything floats in the Dead Sea, huh!). But the boys in my school didn’t care! They still had their JAMBUS! Haha!

Got into Beirut to visit Shatila, a Palestinian camp famous for the massacre that happened in 1982. I wanted to see how the Palestinian youth in the camp were going about their lives… for my film of course.

Met up with these two Palestinian dudes, Basem Asaad (left) and Ghassan Saleh (right), who are volunteers at the camps Youth Relief Centre and residents of the camp themselves. I wasn’t able to grab any still pictures because I was recording video the whole time. The place is rough. The centre’s director, Mahmoud Abbas, said to me, “You don’t see any stray dogs in Shatila because even the dogs can’t stand it here.”. But enough about Shatila. You’ll find out more about that in my film.

For now, I want to talk about my experience travelling in Lebanon. When I first got into the country, I was a bit shocked to see the military everywhere. There were security checkpoints everywhere I went! But it is understandable seeing that the whole country is in a very volatile situation right now. It’s just that I wasn’t used to it.

Beirut is a very modern city and you could even mistake it for a city in Western Europe. But because of the situation, this once vibrant city is now empty except for military personnel. Most shops and restaurants are closed and it’s almost deserted. Some of the buildings were also pretty wartorn (as you can see in the pictures above).

No one is allowed to photograph the military and security checkpoints. I did ask for permission, and one of the military dude said, “No photo! Find me a Malaysian wife! The girls are beautiful in your country! Lebanese girls aren’t pretty!”. He must be blind… and you would agree with me if you see the Lebanese chick I flirted with in my previous post!

Of course, I did manage to sneak a few shots. Then I got arrogant. I was leaving Lebanon for Jordan in a service taxi when it stopped a few kilometres from the border for breakfast. There was a military checkpoint and I casually took out my camera and snapped few pictures from inside the restaurant. Then I continued with my drink.

After a few minutes, five soldiers with rifles marched over, screamed at me in Arabic and dragged me out! Tiu ni amah chow hai! I kept repeating “Tourist! Tourist!” but they just dragged me out and grabbed my camera. They brought me to their fat leader dude who spoke English. I told him I was a tourist and he laughed and just told me to delete the pictures. I was trembling like Mohammed Ali!!! All the other soldiers were laughing their heads off!! Then one of them came up to me and said, “You… hair like Michael Jackson!” Then they all came up to me and started stroking my hair! Weird I tell you! But at least they let me go! Phew! I wasn’t looking forward to spending time in Lebanon’s Abu Ghraib!

And that was my Lebanese adventure (eat your heart out Famous Five and Secret Seven!)! Next and FINAL stop… Amman, Jordan! (Actually, I’m already here!)

Zan just can’t be stop!! He’s an animal!!

But don’t worry… his film shoot has not been neglected.

And the flirting continues in Syria…

For the purpose of my film, I’m suppose to come to Syria to search for the computer game Special Force which was designed by the Hezbollah. Their central Internet bureau is located in Damascus. And I’m suppose to meet up with them. Before that, I wanted to see the game for myself. Apparently, the bad guys/terrorists in this game are the Americans. So, I went to one of the main areas where they sell CDs… kinda like KL’s Imbi.

Every store I went to didn’t have it. Then one store owner told me that it was never a popular game and the price was pretty steep so it never caught on.

This is totally different than what I read and saw on the BBC, CNN, Newsweek, blah blah blah. Sensationalism by the western media… go figure huh?

Then, I met Mustafa (and his wife) who owns a computer games store. His is the only store that actually has the game. And even then, he doesn’t display it and has to make a copy when I told him I wanted to buy it. According to him, people would rather play Command and Conquer! Haha!

Tomorrow… I’m off to Beirut!

I’ve finally arrived Damascus, Syria, after a long journey from Iran (airport transit time sucks!).

Every Middle-Eastern city has to have a bazaar… or a ’souq’ as they say in Syria.

You know you’re in the Middle-East when you see camel heads hanging outside doors!

This is the Umayyad Mosque. It used to be the Roman’s Temple of Jupiter, then it became a Byzantine cathedral, then it was turned into a mosque somewhere around 710AD.

I did my Zohor prayers jemaah there! Syurga… here I come! Woohoo! (Now, if only God can forget about all the times I don’t pray! Haha!)

It’s good to be a Muslim in Damascus. Everytime they stop me to ask for my ticket, I just say “Assalamualaikum” and they laugh and pat me on the back and let me go… for free! Hahaha!

Here I am at Saladdin’s resting place. Yup… it’s the same Saladdin that MDeC did an RM3 million animated trailer on that didn’t go anywhere and did nothing for the country!

Ok! Ok! I know… the main reason I’m here in the Middle-East is for my film. I’ll update you guys on that very soon! I just thought I’d do the tourist thing first. Haha!

I got to Mashhad and met up with ARSAMES!!! The most brutal death metal band in Iran! Please check out their MySpace page and listen to their music. Powerful I tell you!

They thought I was a Britney Spears fan and they wanted to beat me up.

Then, I cried out, “Long live Cannibal Corpse!”, and they immediately became friendly!

Their lead vocalist, Hamed Azizi, is a monster! Imagine what he could do to me if I made him angry! Good thing he’s on my side now!

Guy’s… if you’re reading this… thank you for your hospitality. Come to Malaysia and I’ll take you to Batu Caves so you can steal that golden statue! Muahaha!!

Next stop… Damascus, Syria.