The 26-year-old graduate in cinematic arts from Multimedia University broke into the movie world with Eat Up!, made in 2018.
The quirky tale about a waitress who dreams of taking part in a food competition, was featured at several movie festivals.
At the Hollywood South Film Festival, Malaysian actor Megat Sharizal earned a nomination for Best Supporting actor.
The film also received an Honourable Mention at the Los Angeles Film Awards.
The following year, his other short film The Dying Artist was seen at several international events.
The story about an aging filmmaker coming to terms with his fading popularity made its biggest impact at The Dance of Cinema Film Festival 2020 in the United States.
It was nominated in numerous categories, including Best Director and Best Film.
The Dying Artist went on to win the Audience Choice Award and the Best Production Design award.
This April, he released a horror comedy Kamya on YouTube, with Malaysian popular actor Remy Ishak in a cameo role.
The short film attracted compliments from Indonesian director Joko Anwar.
Kavivarmen considers Joko one of the modern masters of horror movies and the accolade really touched his heart.
Did you always want to be a filmmaker?
My father was a film buff. He introduced me to the world of cinema from childhood.
I was aimless after finishing my secondary school. I wanted to be a software engineer.
But later, I discovered that my heart was not in it. It was a guidance counsellor who pointed out that I get all excited and passionate whenever I talk about films.
I decided I should pursue a career in films.
What kind of themes do you address in your work?
I love telling stories about the underdog and giving voice to the voiceless. My lead character is somewhat broken. Sometimes, I have a tendency to love the villain more than the heroes.
I believe every villain starts out as a hero, until a tragedy breaks him and makes him a villain. Nobody is born to be a villain.
What is your biggest challenge as a Malaysian filmmaker?
Trying to find my own voice in the industry is the hardest thing.
The industry believes there is a formula to a successful movie and your story should focus on horror, comedy or love themes.
Sometimes, I like to bend the genres and mix them up in my work. For example, if my movie starts as a serious drama, then it will have some fantasy elements.
The industry feels the audience would not accept the stories I want to tell. But I do not believe that. I believe our audience is becoming more sophisticated by watching all kinds of films on platforms like Netflix.
They are getting more adventurous with their choices. They are looking for something different. We should have more faith in the stories we want to tell.
Who are the directors you admire?
If I have to make three choices, they would be Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro.
I love Spielberg because he can tackle any genre and he loves telling stories of innocents.
Tarantino, because he has the power to commercialise any theme, including slavery and for his well-written strong characters.
Del Toro for the fantasy elements in his films. I also love to put the same in my works.
What activities do you pursue when not working as a filmmaker?
My work takes a lot of my time. Sometimes, I miss some good movies when working. So, when I am free, I will make it a point to catch all the good movies. When I am not working, I go back to being an audience member.
What is your philosophy in life?
I believe in kindness and humility. The world is cold right now and there is too much negativity. We need kindness and humility even more now.
TRIVIA
Favourite actor: Kamal Haasan. He is not only a brilliant actor but also a brilliant filmmaker.
Favourite actress: Cate Blanchett. She is a powerful figure of feminism.
Favourite singer: Kendrick Lamar. There is poetry in his lyrics.
Favourite movie: Pan’s Labyrinth. I cry each time I watch the movie.
Favourite TV show: Attack of Titans (Japanese anime). The characters are well written.
Favourite comedian: Charlie Chaplin.
