My name is Zan Azlee. I’m a FREELANCE MEDIA PROFESSIONAL who can’t decide which aspect of the media I enjoy more. So, I get myself involved in everything. I’m a TV/FILM DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, VIDEOGRAPHER and WRITER (not just for the screen, but also for print). I’m involved in JOURNALISM both for broadcast and print, a content developer for NEW MEDIA/INTERNET, and a CONTENT CONSULTANT. I'm also a mass-comm LECTURER at a local university.
I found a picture of myself in front of a line of riot police taken by my brother at the Sunway anti-toll hike protest in January 2007. I was filming for my ‘I May Be Malaysian, But I Carry A Big Stick’ documentary film (yeah… it’s been 2 years since I started working on the film).
This is a picture of one of my favourite documentary filmmakers, Sean Langan, who happens to be filming in front of a line of riot police too (in Argentina, I think). Somehow… he can pull off that ‘cool’ look way better than I can!
Here’s my video of the Sunway demonstration (I first posted it online on 8 January 2007). After the general elections last month, the guy who increased the toll rate is gone and some of the participants of the demonstration are now members of parliament! Wooo! This is the first time I’m working so long on a film and it’s pretty cool because you get to see things evolve and change.
I’m currently working on a ‘cari makan’ project (can’t blame a guy who has to support a high maintenance girlfriend who demands for designer handbags every month and also to feed his 39928 illegitimate kids, right?). It’s a 13-episode documentary series for ntv7 called ‘Malaysia My Second Home’. It’s about foreigners who make Malaysia their second home (didn’t expect that huh?? hahaha!). It will be on Sundays at 4pm. The series will start 6th April 2008.
Some of the people who will be featured include British photographer Tom Hayton, Iranian filmmaker Naeim Ghalili and former Indonesian badminton player Rexy Mainaky.
This is Nadzri the visual editor. He stays in till 3am every week just to finish the episodes in time.
This is Reem the assistant producer. She does nothing but boss me around (and I’m suppose to be the PRODUCER goddammit!) and demand for lollypops.
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.)
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!
Here’s the video of the small gathering at Blog House in Damansara Heights a day before the forum.
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I hope none of you have forgotten my (extremely) long term film project ‘I May Be Malaysian, But I Carry A Big Stick‘. Well, in relation to this, All Blogs (National Alliance of Bloggers) organised a forum on Digital Democracy with David Sasaki of Global Voices Online as the main speaker. Other’s included Jeff Ooi, Rocky and Datuk A. Kadir Jasin. It was held on 3rd October 2007 at KLGCC, Kuala Lumpur. I was there to document the event on video. Check it out yo!
Keroncong in Jogja eight months before the earthquake. But everyone is doing fine after. As for this film, its boring. Don’t waste your time. If you do watch it, don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Searching for Sheila (2006)
Synopsis :
When the filmmakers went to Jogjakarta in Indonesia, they were hoping to find the popular Indon rock band ‘Sheila on 7′. They searched high and low throughout the city…
Screenings:
- Jakarta SlingShortFest 2006
- Malaysian Documentaries 2006
- 2007 Singapore Indie Documentary Film Festival
Go out and grab a copy of the latest issue (May/June 07) of SURF! It’s an awesome magazine! Absolutely terrific! Totally bodacious! And it has one hell of a regular contributing writer (it’s me obviously!)!
This issue’s cover theme deals with New Media news. Check out the opening article entitled ‘The New News’. Great stuff! One hell of a writer I tell you (it’s me obviously!)!
So I attended the Bloggers United Malaysia Gathering 2007 (BUM2007) last Saturday. After such a long break from the ‘I May Be Malaysian, But I Carry A Big Stick’ film project (due to work that actually pays the bills and feeds the stomach!), this event was just what I needed to get the momentum going again. I also have to mention… the roast lamb was excellent! Thanks Howsy and gang for inviting me.
(Apologies for the less than satisfactory audio. My mic was acting up. Should have paid more attention. So much for wanting to be a pro!)
ntv7’s 7 Patrol will be around to hand out freebies and talk about FESTIVAL… Jeff Ooi will be there… I will be there… and if that doesn’t give you a tingly sensation… there will also be hot babes in skimpy baju kurungs pole dancing on stage!
Admission is free… seats are limited… so keep Tuesday evening free and come over or you will have to just wait for the film to air on ntv7 on Merdeka eve to finally see it (yup… that’s the confirmed broadcast date)!
You may think I’ve neglected ‘The Look-East Project’, but I have not! Editing is done my friends and that means the final film has been completed. Let me introduce to you the final character of the film here.
I have managed to sell the film to a local broadcaster!! Woohoo!! I’m rolling in dough!!! Swimming in cash!!! Drowning in dollars!!! Suffocating in syillings!!!
It’ll be on air… as soon as it is cleared by the (jeng jeng jeng!!) Censorship Board. Stay tuned for more info!
I have started a new film project called ‘I May Be Malaysian, But I Carry A Big Stick’ (which is actually the title of a short film I did in 2003). It will be a documentary about New Media and it’s role in the democratisation of Malaysia. The main subject is blogger Jeff Ooi. I talked to Jeff about this project end of last year and he agreed. And now… his court case. Read more about the case here: www.jeffooi.com rockybru.blogspot.com
For those of you who are wondering about ‘The Look-East Project’, it’s coming along in editing. Will keep you guys posted.
We all know about the massive floods in Johor. With it being my home state and all, I decided to make a trip down to see how things are. I went to Parit Sulong in Batu Pahat, one of the worst hit areas. What impressed me most is how organised and calm they are. The way they carry on is as if they don’t need any help. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.
If you would like to read more about the toll issue or to see photos of the demonstration, you can do so at Jeff Ooi’s. Excuse me for now as I have to go and reload my Touch ‘n’ Go card.
Editing ‘The Look-East Project’ is taking up a lot of time. Hours of footage to look through and I’m no where close to coming up with a proper structure. But it’s fun, so no worries. I’ve also been doing some other work such as writing proposals for several future film projects which, rest assured, will be announced here if everything goes according to plan.
And… I’ll be lecturing again at HELP University-College after taking a two month break. I’ll be teaching the ‘Intro to Film’ course which I have taught several times before, and a new subject called ‘IT, Mass Media and Society’, which shouldn’t be a problem since I’ve been a bloody IT journalist since 2000! Students always mistake me for being one of them (thanks to my boyish good looks!) so I can’t wait to see if any girls hit on me on the first day of classes next week!
