In 2004, Malaysian female independent film director, Yasmin Ahmad, premiered her first feature
on the big screen, Sepet.
1 It drew enormous attention, with both good and bad reactions from
across the country, and the film was an instant hit.
2 It was a breath of fresh air for Malaysian
cinema, which is known for its emphasis primarily on entertainment. Sepet was filmed using a
very different filmic style from those to which Malaysians are accustomed, but it was the issues
that Ahmad addressed that drew strong reactions from the public and the media, and, eventually,
from the government. In fact, a forum on the film, which was organized by Ministry of
Information and was aired on national television, labelled Ahmad a “corrupter of culture”.